As the President argues against Arizona's efforts to enforce immigration laws that the federal government has either ignored or overwritten, he remains silent on illegal immigration flows on the border. Recently Arizona residents reported a growing phenomenon: Asians, often Chinese nationals, illegally crossing into Arizona.
The photo above was taken on April 24, 2012, near Nogales, Ariz., possibly west of Tubac, according to Zack Taylor, the founder of the National Association Of Former Border Patrol Officers. The guide looks Hispanic, but certainly not his clients. Taylor notes:
Three or four are wearing military-style web gear belts. I think at least one is wearing a sidearm, maybe three.
The water jug painted black is a dead giveaway they are illegal as are the over booties they wear.
They are dressed to look like Americans.
The first one behind the leader appears to be a Chinese female.
Six appear to be Asian, probably Chinese.
Chinese and Indian illegal aliens have become common in Tucson Sector.
Homeland Security is doing a wonderful job of keeping this quiet and under the radar.
In January, President Obama made a public appearance in Disney World announcing eased visa requirements for those seeking entry from around the world, but focused on easing visa restrictions for the Chinese, Brazilians, and Indians. Meanwhile, Congress is considering a "tourism" bill that enables the Secretary of State to provide indefinitely long visa periods to other nations, most particularly the Chinese.
As the administration focuses its press releases on the growing need for friendship for the country, experts who closely monitor the security landscape are increasingly concerned about the economic and national security issues raised by the breadth of Chinese activity in the United States. The Chinese are increasingly singled out for their cyber intrusions, university spying, and corporate espionage issues as described by former senior lawyers for the National Security Agency, Joel Brenner in his Foreign Policy article "The Calm Before the Storm", and Stewart Baker (who was also the first Assistant Secretary for Policy at the Department of Homeland Security) in his book Skating on Stilts.
In addition, we are reminded of China's long history of human rights abuses as Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng's attempt to flee house arrest fell apart even while taking refuge with the U.S. Ambassador in China after the Chinese government threatened to kill his wife if he left the country for America. Easing visa restrictions in China's suppressive climate is an invitation to illegal overstays and will likely not help those like Guangcheng who are not permitted to leave China. That suppressed Chinese seek illegal entry is understandable. That many other Chinese are forced into spying and other acts of espionage on behalf of their government is not acceptable. Other means of diplomacy should be engaged to stop human rights abuses and permit asylum claims, as well as develop assets to curtail the espionage. But we can't turn a blind eye to our borders and allow those who have not been vetted to enter the United States illegally.