Patel’s FBI arrests alleged Chinese spies targeting US Navy



President Donald Trump's administration arrested two more Chinese nationals on Friday as part of its efforts to crack down on the espionage activities of the Chinese Communist Party.

The FBI arrested Yuance Chen, an Oregon resident, and Liren Lai, who traveled to Texas on a tourist visa in April, the Department of Justice announced.

'The individuals charged were acting on behalf of a hostile foreign intelligence service — part of the Chinese Communist Party's broader effort to infiltrate and undermine our institutions.'

According to the DOJ, the two allegedly acted as agents for the CCP's Ministry of State Security by collecting intelligence about U.S. Navy military members and bases.

Attorney General Pamela Bondi stated, "This case underscores the Chinese government's sustained and aggressive effort to infiltrate our military and undermine our national security from within."

RELATED: From Wuhan to Michigan: Feds nab ANOTHER Chinese scholar in alleged bio-material smuggling plot

  Photo by Sebastian Barros/NurPhoto via Getty Images

"The Justice Department will not stand by while hostile nations embed spies in our country — we will expose foreign operatives, hold their agents to account, and protect the American people from covert threats to our national security," she added.

The two men are also accused of attempting to recruit service members to carry out similar covert tasks for the MSS, having allegedly visited naval installations in Washington and California in 2022 and 2023. The DOJ claimed that during those visits, Chen took photographs of a bulletin board that contained the names and programs of recruits, most of whom identified their hometown as China. That photo was allegedly sent to an MSS intelligence officer.

Chen and Lai allegedly facilitated a $10,000 "dead drop" payment on behalf of the MSS. The men were accused of coordinating with others in the U.S. to leave a backpack with the cash at a locker in Livermore, California.

A criminal complaint stated that Lai recruited Chen to work for the Chinese intelligence organization in 2021.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service assisted with the FBI's Friday arrest of Chen and Lai.

The men face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

RELATED: Agroterrorism plot? Chinese nationals arrested for smuggling potential bioweapon into US: FBI

  Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox News Digital, "Today's arrests reflect the FBI's unwavering commitment to protecting our national security and safeguarding the integrity of our military."

"The individuals charged were acting on behalf of a hostile foreign intelligence service — part of the Chinese Communist Party's broader effort to infiltrate and undermine our institutions," Patel continued. "Thanks to outstanding coordination with our partners, including NCIS, we disrupted those efforts and sent a clear message: The United States will not tolerate espionage on American soil. Our counterintelligence operations remain focused, vigilant, and relentless."

In May, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the Trump administration would begin aggressively revoking student visas for Chinese nationals with connections to the CCP or those "studying in critical fields" to clamp down on unchecked espionage.

Since Rubio's announcement, several Chinese nationals have been arrested for allegedly attempting to smuggle biomaterial into the U.S.

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Trump Admin Moves To Revoke U.S. Student Visas For Chinese Nationals

The Trump administration announced Wednesday that it will begin the process of “aggressively” revoking student visas for Chinese nationals studying in the United States. “Under President Trump’s leadership, the U.S. State Department will work with the Department of Homeland Security to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist […]

House Republicans Move To Block Chinese Nationals From Obtaining U.S. Student Visas

'We’ve literally invited the CCP to spy on our military, steal our intellectual property, and threaten national security,' Moore said.

More Chinese Nationals Illegally Entered The U.S. In Two Days This Month Than In All Of 2021

The implications are not just limited to espionage but extend to the potential for creating societal disruptions and furthering the CCP’s global influence campaign in America.

Chinese Nationals Are Surging Over The Border — This Isn’t A Crisis, It’s An Invasion.

America’s number one foreign enemy isn’t just sending spies through gaps in the abandoned border wall. It’s fueling the fentanyl crisis.

Right now, 7,000 migrants are heading to America via the Darién Gap, many of whom are being led by 'Chinese influencers'



Illegal immigrants crossing our borders have always been a problem, but it’s become an out-of-control monster of a problem since the Biden administration took office, and it’s only getting worse.

Sara Gonzales plays the clip of a sea of immigrants numbering more than 7,000, heading to the United States right now by way of the Darién Gap; many of them are allegedly being led by "Chinese influencers."

“We can't ask who they are, we can't ask what they're going to do here, what they're going to give to us,” sighs Pat Gray. “We have to only mention what we're going to do for them.”

“Meanwhile, Joe Biden has already requested that Congress appropriate $1.4 billion to help state and local governments provide shelter and services for migrants,” says Sara.

“They want your taxpayer dollars to pay for them welcoming these immigrants with open arms.”

It’s especially upsetting and unfair for the cities and states that did not enact certain immigration policies and chose not to be places of designated sanctuary.

“The audacity of these people to say, ‘No, we want everyone to have to pay for our policies – for our party's policies, for our state's policies, for our city's policies – that we chose to enact; now it's your responsibility,’” even though many cities and states warned that it was “a horrible policy,” says Sara.

“This whole system qualifies as a human trafficking operation,” says Jaco Booyens, because “American mayors [and] American cities are making money off the backs of displaced people who were displaced by our federal government from the get-go – they were enticed to come, they were lied to by the president of the United States” that they could have “the American dream.”

However, when they arrive here, the consequences are often devastating – both for the migrants and for U.S. citizens.

“Women are prostituting themselves at unbelievable rates because they have no food, they have no credentials … they do not have family here,” Booyens laments. “The military-age men that are coming here who can't get a job, they cannot live here legally or eat legally. … What does that mean? They're going to rob you, they're going to steal, they're going to plunder; you're going to have anarchy in the streets, but maybe that is the whole point.”

“Well, of course it is – chaos is the whole point,” says Pat.


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