Last week, U.S. Rep. Neal Dunn, R-Fla., warned U.S. Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas “about the United States’ visa policy for Chinese nationals entering the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI).”
Dunn weighed in on why he sent the letter.
“The Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands is the only U.S. territory that does not require a visa for Chinese nationals to enter. Current statute allows Chinese nationals to enter the islands for 14 days visa-free,” said Dunn.
“Law enforcement does an exceptional job capturing those who come to the islands with ill intent. However, we must implement the requirement of a B-1/B-2 visa to enter the CMNI to successfully deter the Chinese Communist Party’s aggression and transnational repression,” Dunn added.
Dunn and U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, led the letter which more than two dozen House and Senate members signed including U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and U.S. Reps. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., Greg Steube, R-Fla., and Mike Waltz, R-Fla.
“As mentioned in the letter, four companies in Guam were issued sanctions for using illegal labor from China this year. Chinese citizens were caught entering Saipan and then using messaging apps to coordinate illegal jobs and illegal boat rides to Guam, which is home to highly strategic U.S. military installations. Moreover, just last month, the Department of Justice prosecuted a case in which two Chinese nationals using the United States Postal Service for the distribution of methamphetamine in CNMI were sentenced to prison,” Dunn’s office noted.