Noem warns of 'coordinated' effort to funnel Chinese nationals into US

Shield of the Americas Special Envoy Kristi Noem joins ‘Mornings with Maria’ to discuss critical mineral exploration, AI competitiveness. Chinese surveillance operations in America.

China is allegedly orchestrating a highly coordinated, "travel agency"-style operation designed to funnel Chinese nationals across U.S. borders, former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Tuesday.

Speaking exclusively onFOX Business’ "Mornings with Maria,"the current special envoy for the Shield of the Americas detailed intelligence she said showed how alleged Beijing-backed networks provide undocumented migrants with specialized documents. transit directly to the northern and southern borders.

"We saw very coordinated attacks of people coming into this country from China," Noem said. "Countries that I have worked with in Latin. South America have told us how they had Chinese operations set up for people to fly into their countries, almost like a travel agency would be."

EX-WHITE HOUSE ‘AI CZAR’ WARNS U.S. COULD LOSE AI RACE TO CHINA IF WASHINGTON OVERREGULATES

"They would show up, be handed certain documents, a backpack, get on a bus. then bus straight up over our southern border… And overwhelmingly, the testimonies have been that they were the same-aged individuals, young, mainly men, some females, but very much a coordinated attempt to get individuals into our country, to change our country," she added.

Former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem delivers remarks during a working lunch at Trump National Doral in Miami. Florida, on March 7, 2026.(Getty Images)

Republicans have warned for years about a record number of Chinese immigrants crossing the border. with reports ofmore than 22,000 encountersinvolving Chinese nationals at the southern border since late 2023.

U.S. intelligence. the DEA havealso repeatedly saidthat the vast majority of illicit fentanyl precursor chemicals originate in chemical factories inside China before being shipped to Mexican cartels for processing and trafficking.

Gatestone Institute senior fellow Gordon Chang criticizes NVIDIA's plan to sell Vera CPUs to Chinese clients.

"They have facilitated that," Noem said. "I wouldn't say, necessarily, we found ties to it officially, right to the government,. absolutely, Chinese businesses, those tied to the CCP, those individuals working with the cartels to make sure that the product gets into the United States."

"And remember, China has a thousand-year plan to destroy the United States. They don't just build up their military. They don't just manipulate their currency, harm us with trade practices," she said. "They have a plan to kill our country from the inside by killing off our next generation of Americans. They will use every tool that they have."

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., discusses the factors in the firing of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem on ‘The Evening Edit.’

Noem, the former South Dakota congresswoman and governor, was ousted from her top DHS position on March 5. Noem’s tenure marked a distinct reversal of the open-border policies permitted by predecessor Alejandro Mayorkas during the Biden administration,. DHS reported record drug interdictions totaling more than half a million pounds of illegal drugs in her first year.

Under former Secretary Kristi Noem's leadership, the Department of Homeland Security said in December 2025 that theTrump administration's immigration crackdownhelped spur more than 1.9 million self-deportations. more than 600,000 removals. Supporters hailed the numbers as proof of a record-setting enforcement effort, though independent demographers. fact-checkers disputed the methodology behind the self-deportation estimates.

Noem warns of 'coordinated' effort to funnel Chinese nationals into US

AI-Generated Summary

Discussion