House Majority Leader Steve Scalise raised concerns on Tuesday regarding a surge of Chinese migrants crossing the United States-Mexico border.
While appearing on Fox News' Fox & Friends, Scalise spoke with the show's co-host, Lawrence Jones, about a report from 60 Minutes that detailed Chinese migrants using TikTok to learn ways to cross the border illegally.
"Over 30,000 Chinese nationals came across, and they're using TikTok, which is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party," Scalise said. "So if anybody wonders where this is coming from, all the countries, we've documented well over 150 countries where people come across our border."
"This isn't just South and Central America, it's Middle Eastern countries, it's China, it's other Asian nations, all coming into America untethered, without any vetting at all," Scalise added.
Newsweek reached out to the Chinese Foreign Ministry and Scalise's press secretary via email for comment.
The context:
The number of Chinese nationals encountered at borders across the U.S. has continued to increase in recent months, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. In December, there were over 5,000 encounters of Chinese national migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.
CBS News' 60 Minutes reported that Chinese migrants are using Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, to learn different methods of crossing the border.
What we know:
Republicans, including Scalise, have continued to criticize President Joe Biden's handling of the southern border and the influx of migrants crossing illegally.
Many lawmakers have called on Biden to take executive authority to respond to the border crisis, but he instead has urged Congress to pass a bipartisan border security bill and previously said, "I've done all I can do" on the border.
Views:
Many Republicans have already expressed opposition to the text of a bipartisan border security bill released this weekend.
In a joint statement released this week, Scalise, House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer and Representative Elise Stefanik said that House Republicans oppose the bill.
"Because President Biden has refused to utilize his broad executive authority to end the border catastrophe that he has created, the House led nine months ago with the passage of the Secure the Border Act (H.R. 2). That bill contains the necessary components to actually stem the flow of illegals and end the present crisis. The Senate must take it up immediately," the statement said in part.
What's next:
The Senate is expected to begin discussions on the bipartisan border security deal this week, but as House Republicans noted, it is likely to fail if it is able to pass through the chamber.
In addition to border security, Republicans have also taken aim at TikTok, with many seeking to ban the mobile application over claims that it is controlled by the Chinese Community Party (CCP).
TikTok CEO Shou Chew and other tech leaders like Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently appeared before Congress for a hearing in which they were to testify in front of families of victims impacted by child sexual exploitation via social media platforms.
Update 2/6/24, 9:18 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information and to reflect that Newsweek reached out to the Chinese Foreign Ministry for comment.
Update 2/6/24, 9:59 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information and to reflect that Newsweek reached out to Steve Scalise for comment.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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