Former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem alleged Tuesday that Chinese-linked networks have been coordinating the movement of migrants into the United States through highly organized operations spanning Latin America.
Speaking during an interview on FOX Business’ “Mornings with Maria,” Noem described what she said was intelligence gathered from partner nations in Central and South America.
According to Noem, officials in several countries reported the existence of organized systems that helped Chinese nationals travel through the region and ultimately reach the U.S. border.
“We saw very coordinated attacks of people coming into this country from China,” Noem said.
Noem currently serves as special envoy for the Shield of the Americas initiative.
She said foreign governments described operations that functioned similarly to travel agencies.
According to Noem, Chinese nationals would arrive in participating countries and receive documents, supplies and transportation assistance.
“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.
She alleged that migrants were then transported toward the United States.
“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 claimed the migrants involved were overwhelmingly young adults.
“The testimonies have been that they were the same-aged individuals, young, mainly men, some females, but very much a coordinated attempt to get individuals into our country,” she said.
She did not publicly provide evidence linking the alleged operations directly to the Chinese government.
However, Noem suggested the activity reflected broader concerns about China’s long-term strategic objectives.
Republicans have repeatedly raised concerns in recent years about increasing numbers of Chinese nationals encountered at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Federal border data showed more than 22,000 encounters involving Chinese nationals at the southern border since late 2023.
The issue has become a recurring topic in congressional hearings and national security discussions.
Noem also connected the issue to broader concerns involving China and illicit drug trafficking.
U.S. intelligence agencies and the Drug Enforcement Administration have repeatedly reported that many precursor chemicals used in fentanyl production originate from suppliers in China before being shipped to criminal organizations in Mexico.
Those cartels then process and traffic the drugs into the United States.
“They have facilitated that,” Noem said when discussing China’s role in the fentanyl supply chain.
She stopped short of directly accusing the Chinese government itself of directing the activity.
“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 to make sure that the product gets into the United States.”
Noem argued that China employs a variety of methods to compete with and challenge the United States.
“They have a plan to kill our country from the inside by killing off our next generation of Americans,” she said.
“They will use every tool that they have.”
Noem served as Homeland Security secretary until March 5.
During her tenure, the Trump administration pursued an aggressive immigration enforcement strategy that differed sharply from the policies implemented under former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas during the Biden administration.
The Department of Homeland Security reported significant increases in immigration enforcement activity during that period.
In December 2025, DHS said the administration’s immigration crackdown contributed to more than 600,000 removals and approximately 1.9 million self-deportations.
Supporters of the administration cited those figures as evidence that stricter enforcement policies were producing results.
However, some independent researchers and fact-checking organizations questioned the methodology used to calculate the self-deportation estimates, Fox News reported.
Republican lawmakers have increasingly linked immigration, national security and fentanyl trafficking concerns to broader debates over China’s influence and activities around the world.