Federal authorities recently charged five Chinese nationals who photographed U.S. troops conducting live-fire exercises with the Taiwanese military in Michigan. Shockingly, all five of these young men were here on student visas. Their story is just one example of an alarming and growing trend of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) using our academic institutions as platforms for espionage.
It's time our elected officials responded with the urgency this threat demands. There's one immediate thing Congress can do to stem this threat: end China's exploitation of our student visa program.
During the 2023-2024 academic year, nearly 300,000 Chinese nationals came to the United States on a student visa—a shockingly high figure. While many of these visa holders came here to study, far too many also served as intelligence gatherers or paid spies for the CCP.
We cannot eliminate this threat by simply devoting more time and money to the visa vetting process. More robust vetting is a good start, but as the Congressional Research Service has shown, the United States cannot accurately flag the espionage-related risk factors of student visa applicants because many who enter the United States with pure intentions are later recruited or coerced by the CCP to engage in espionage.
The recent story from Michigan is just one documented incident where Chinese visa holders were caught attempting to access a secure facility or successfully gained access to sensitive government labs or military installations. Last year, a Chinese student, here on a visa, was caught flying a drone with a camera over a naval shipyard in Newport News, Virginia. This individual was subsequently convicted under the Espionage Act.
In 2023, a Chinese national who first came here on a student visa was sentenced to eight years in federal prison for his role in trying to obtain access to advanced technology being developed by U.S. companies.
These incidents are part of a larger effort by the Chinese Communist Party to spy on America. The public witnessed firsthand a Chinese spy balloon fly across the American continent, just as they saw well-documented coverage of tens of thousands of Chinese nationals sneaking across our southern border.
The fact of the matter is simple: the scope of this threat is so broad and so pervasive that the only way to combat espionage successfully is to eliminate all opportunities for CCP spies to collect sensitive information in our country. An immediate ban on all student visas for Chinese nationals is essential to protect and defend our national security, innovative technology, critical infrastructure, and personal information.
It's time to address this threat. Ending China's access to student visas is a strong first step. These visas are relatively easy to acquire and represent a significant percentage of the total visas given to Chinese nationals each year. It's time we turn off the spigot.
Joe Biden wasn't serious about the problem; in fact, he pardoned two Chinese nationals convicted of spying in his final days. We have to do better. President Donald Trump sees the threat, as do the 77 million Americans who voted for the president and Republican majorities in Congress to make foundational changes. It's time lawmakers took bold action to help make America safe again.
Congressman Riley Moore is a Republican serving the Second District of West Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is a member of the House Appropriations Committee. Follow @RepRileyMoore.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
