Chinese Migrants Spark Concerns About US Military Base

Guam is home to two strategic U.S. bases: Naval Base Guam in Santa Rita, and Andersen Air Force Base in Yigo. Guam Customs and Quarantine said the situation in the CNMI, a separate commonwealth to the U.S. territory of Guam that shares a maritime boundary with Japan in the West Pacific, "Continues to be of concern" due to Chinese nationals purportedly circumventing or manipulating the process for legal entry. Concerns are more opaque than the those over the migrants entering the U.S. through Mexico, said CQA PR officer Alana Chargualaf-Afaisen, with threats relating to military intelligence, terrorism, communicable diseases, human trafficking, drug trafficking and illegal gambling. U.S. lawmakers previously voiced concerns that Chinese nationals were using the waiver scheme to enter Guam through the CNMI and there engaging in criminal activities. Concerns about China's role and impact on the CNMI, and in turn Guam, have been relayed by U.S. lawmakers to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. A group of 32 senators and representatives, including Marco Rubio of Florida and Joni Ernst of Iowa, wrote a letter to Mayorkas on November 30, 2023, raising concerns about Chinese nationals' ability to enter Guam through the CNMI without a separate B-1 or B-2 visa. Prior to COVID-19 restrictions, Chinese tourists made up about 40 percent of visitors to the CNMI, according to August 2023 testimony provided by Palacios to the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources.