Shield of the Americas Special Envoy and former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is sounding the alarm over what she describes as a coordinated Chinese effort to expand influence inside the United States through illegal migration networks, criminal partnerships, and even the creation of large numbers of U.S.-born citizens through surrogacy programs. According to Noem, these activities are not isolated events but part of a broader strategy designed to advance China’s long-term interests at America’s expense.
Who Is Kristi Noem?
Noem is a former governor of South Dakota who later served as Secretary of Homeland Security during the Trump administration. She currently serves as Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas initiative. During a June 2026 appearance on FOX Business, Noem discussed concerns about Chinese surveillance operations, border security, critical minerals, and artificial intelligence competition. Her most striking comments focused on what she described as organized efforts to move Chinese nationals into the United States.
The “Travel Agency” Model
According to Noem, intelligence gathered from countries in Latin and South America revealed what she described as Chinese operations functioning almost like travel agencies for migrants.
“We saw very coordinated attacks of people coming into this country from China,” Noem said. She explained that individuals would fly into countries in Latin America, receive documents and supplies, and then be transported toward the U.S. border.
“Countries that I have worked with in Latin and 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,” Noem said.
According to her account, migrants would arrive, receive paperwork and a backpack, board transportation, and be moved directly toward the southern border. Noem said the individuals were overwhelmingly young adults, primarily men, with some women, and that the pattern appeared highly organized.
“They would show up, be handed certain documents, a backpack, get on a bus and then bus straight up over our southern border,” she said.
Noem argued that the consistency of the process suggests something larger than spontaneous migration. In her view, it represents a deliberate effort to place individuals inside the United States for strategic purposes.
How Large Is the Chinese Illegal Immigrant Population?
The issue has drawn increasing attention as Chinese migration surged in recent years.
Republicans have pointed to more than 22,000 encounters involving Chinese nationals at the southern border since late 2023. At the same time, estimates cited by immigration researchers suggest there are roughly 390,000 undocumented Chinese immigrants currently living in the United States.
The increase became particularly noticeable in 2023, when more than 35,000 Chinese migrants reportedly crossed the dangerous Darién Gap route through Central America before entering the United States from Mexico. Experts cited social media networks and migrant support systems emerged to help guide travelers along the route. ACZ sources say that groups of Chinese men of military age, bearing and manner (i.e. soldiers spotted by former U.S. special forces soldiers) had been spotted working up through the border during the Biden Administration.
For critics of Beijing, the concern is not simply the number of arrivals. The concern is whether organized networks connected to Chinese interests are helping facilitate the movement of large numbers of people into the United States for reasons that extend beyond economic opportunity.
Connections to Criminal Networks
Noem also linked Chinese entities to America’s fentanyl crisis.
She noted that U.S. intelligence agencies and the Drug Enforcement Administration have repeatedly stated that the vast majority of fentanyl precursor chemicals originate in Chinese chemical factories before being shipped to Mexican cartels for processing and eventual distribution in the United States.
While Noem stopped short of claiming direct proof of official Chinese government involvement in the migration operations, she argued that businesses and individuals tied to the Chinese Communist Party have played a facilitating role.
“I wouldn’t say, necessarily, we found ties to it officially, right to the government,” Noem said. “But absolutely, Chinese businesses, those tied to the CCP, those individuals working with the cartels.”
Her argument is that migration networks, cartel relationships, and drug trafficking should not be viewed as separate issues. Instead, she sees them as overlapping elements of a larger challenge posed by China’s growing global reach.
A Long-Term Strategy?
Noem framed the issue in sweeping geopolitical terms.
“China has a thousand-year plan to destroy the United States,” she said.
According to Noem, China employs a wide range of tools to advance its interests, including military expansion, trade practices, currency policies, surveillance operations, and influence campaigns.
“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,” she said.
Supporters of Noem’s position argue that the migration issue cannot be separated from broader strategic competition between Washington and Beijing. In their view, every pathway that expands Chinese influence inside the United States deserves scrutiny.
The Citizenship Strategy
Another development raising concerns involves wealthy Chinese citizens seeking large numbers of American-born children through U.S. surrogacy arrangements.
One of the most notable examples involved Chinese billionaire Xu Bo, founder of Duoyi Network. Court proceedings revealed that Xu sought parental rights to multiple unborn children in California while reportedly pursuing many additional surrogacy arrangements.
According to reports cited in the source material, Xu told a judge he hoped to have around 20 U.S.-born children. Other surrogacy industry figures described wealthy clients seeking dozens or even hundreds of children through American surrogacy programs.
The appeal is obvious. Children born in the United States receive American citizenship at birth under current interpretations of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Industry statistics cited in the source material show that international use of American surrogacy programs expanded dramatically between 2014 and 2019. Nearly 40 percent of surrogate IVF cycles involved foreign clients, and 41 percent of those foreign clients were from China.
Critics argue that this effectively creates a pathway for wealthy foreign nationals to build large numbers of future American citizens through legal means. Supporters of tighter restrictions view it as another example of foreign actors exploiting loopholes in the American system for long-term advantage.
Is America’s openness being exploited by a strategic competitor seeking influence, leverage, and long-term advantages inside the United States? As policymakers continue debating immigration, citizenship, and national security, Noem’s warning is likely to remain part of that conversation.