6 Chinese "Soldiers" Caught at US Border — ICE Exposes Massive OPT Scam, 10,000 Students Targeted

Ajouté : 2026-06-01

[00:00:00]On the southern border of the United States, there have been new sightings of Chinese illegal immigrants. On the night of May 26, US Border Patrol and the Texas Department of Public Safety carried out a joint operation in Maverick County, Texas. They caught 12 people crossing illegally on a private ranch near Eagle Pass, including six Chinese nationals. On May 27th, Chris Olivarez, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety, posted on X that all six Chinese migrants were wearing camouflage and tried to use the terrain to evade authorities. Photos show several US officers entering the ranch late at night to carry out the operation. The camouflage sparked speculation online. Some commented, "Why are these Chinese people crossing our border in military gear? These individuals are not your typical border crossers. Young Chinese adults entering the US in tactical gear have raised serious national security concerns. Due to their nationality and their methods of avoiding capture, authorities have classified them as foreign nationals of special interest. This incident comes amid repeated warnings about a large number of Chinese men of military age crossing illegally. Questions arise about their intent. Are they scouts, sabaturs, or part of a larger infiltration strategy? Authorities and commentators believe this could involve more complex motives, including avoiding patrols, gathering intelligence, or other non-migration purposes. In recent years, the rise in Chinese illegal crossings has alerted both federal and local authorities. President Trump has long warned that the border must be completely secured. These camouflaged Chinese migrants are seen as a clear reflection of the border crisis. In a recent case, ICE recently exposed large-scale OPT fraud, which refers to the optional practical training program.

[00:01:55]This affects over 10,000 international students and shocks the study abroad community. On April 10th in downtown Jersey City, several ICE agents approached a young Asian woman, detained her, and took her into a vehicle. Video shows the woman in everyday clothing walking on the street offering no visible resistance. The arrest took just over a minute. Reports indicate her name is Jun Yan Wong. She is an international student currently on OPT. US authorities have not officially confirmed the details, but ICE records show she is being held at the Delaney Hall detention facility in New Jersey. Some reports suggest she recently graduated, but the exact graduation date and OPT validity are disputed. There are also online claims that the woman and her boyfriend were involved in gift card fraud. So far, none of these claims have been confirmed by authorities. While the case mainly involves her immigration status and potential fraud, some online speculation has questioned whether her arrest could be linked to espionage for China. On May 12th, 2026, Todd Lions, acting director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, dropped a bombshell. Over 10,000 foreign students across the US are suspected of using the OPT program to commit fraud. He explained that these figures only cover the top 25 employers involved with OPT violations.

[00:03:20]Lions stressed this is not accidental.

[00:03:23]It is deliberate, coordinated, and criminal. For many Chinese students, OPT serves as a crucial bridge to an H-1B work visa. But now, the program is under intense scrutiny. Fake employment records, shell companies, and remote operations from India. All part of a shadowy industry have been laid bare.

[00:03:43]OPT, or optional practical training, allows F1 visa holders to work legally in the US for 12 months after graduation, extendable to 36 months for STEM fields. It was designed to attract global talent and boost innovation. US universities and tech companies rely heavily on international students to fill labor gaps. ICE and Homeland Security investigations visited 18 problematic workplaces nationwide. They uncovered shocking findings. Fake or empty addresses. Agents found many reported office locations were either empty locked office buildings or ordinary residences with a sign on the door claiming to be a company headquarters. Some OPT employers even shared a single registered address without any of them actually leasing the space. Discrepancies in employee numbers. In northern Texas, one employer claimed to employ three OPT students, but federal records showed 500 listed under the company. Unaccounted employees. In New Jersey, agents inspected a company reporting 150 foreign OPT employees, but found only one on site. The employer could not explain the whereabouts of the other 149. Investigators found that some OPT students were actually being managed remotely by staff in India. This completely violates OPT rules which require practical training to be supervised on site by a US employer. In other words, students pay for fake employment records without ever going to work. Money flowed through these schemes. students paid shell companies anywhere from a few thousand to tens of thousands of dollars in exchange for fake I983 training plans and employment verification. Most of this money eventually moved overseas through illegal channels. This isn't just a loophole. It's a large-scale systematic crossber fraud network. ICE officials warned that it could also involve more serious crimes like intellectual property theft or even espionage. This enforcement action comes as part of the Trump administration's broader push to tighten immigration enforcement.

[00:05:48]President Trump appointed Vice President JD Vance to lead a fraud task force.

[00:05:53]Vance made a strong statement on social media. We will not tolerate foreign nationals abusing our visa system at the expense of the American people. Clearly, this is another step towards stricter visa oversight at the government level.

[00:06:06]By 2024, the number of international students approved to work in the US under OPT reached 418,000 with about 2/3 from India and China. The impact on Chinese students is especially significant. Chinese students have long been major participants in OPT and STEM OPT, particularly in computer science, engineering, and finance. In recent years, amid US China tensions, economic pressure, and tighter visa policies, some students have turned to middlemen or low barrier employers to maintain status, avoid returning home, or bypass the risks of the H-1B lottery. These intermediaries often charge high fees and provide seemingly legitimate employment verification. But it's a ticking time bomb. If ICE finds discrepancies by cross-checking service records, tax filings, actual workplaces, and employer backgrounds, students could face revocation of status, detention, deportation, or even permanent bans.

[00:07:06]Beyond this, US media and institutions have uncovered cases of scholars at top US universities and labs participating in China's Thousand Talents program.

[00:07:16]Charles Leeberg, former chair of Harvard's chemistry department and a leading nanotechnology scholar, was arrested in January 2020. Starting in 2012, he signed a contract with a thousand talents plan to secretly set up a shadow nano lab at Wuhan University of Technology. He spent at least 9 months a year in China, supervising Chinese PhD students and conducting parallel research. The Chinese government provided him with $1.5 million in funding. Professor Seong Guo Jung, a rheatology expert at Ohio State University, joined China's Thousand Talents Plan in 2013. He used 1.1 million in NIH funded US research grants for experiments in the US while systematically transferring results to China. In May 2020, he was arrested at the airport preparing to fly to China, carrying a fake passport, Chinese property deeds, and numerous electronic devices. Even more shocking, Chinese officials have personally engaged in espionage. Shu Yan Jun, deputy director at Djang Su Provincial State Security Department, conducted economic espionage targeting US aerospace companies.

[00:08:27]Starting in 2013, he conducted intelligence on GE Aviation's composite aircraft engine fan technology. In 2022, he was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. The first successful extradition of an active Chinese intelligence officer by the US Department of Justice.

[00:08:45]The essence of the Thousand Talents program isn't just stealing a few documents. It recruits top scientists to conduct research in China, enabling Chinese labs to catch up or even surpass global peers. For example, in November 2025, the US Department of Justice charged three Chinese visiting scholars, Ba Shu, Funfan Jang, and Juong Jang.

[00:09:10]They worked at Shan Shu<unk>s laboratory at the University of Michigan. They were accused of making false statements to customs while attempting to bring sensitive biological samples into US labs for research. While not formally labeled as thousand talents plan cases, these actions often involve close cooperation with Chinese universities or institutions, raising concerns over biosafety and dual use technology risks.

[00:09:34]In recent years, amid intensifying USChina strategic competition, the US has focused on preventing United Front style infiltration, economic espionage, cyber attacks, and political influence operations. agencies including the DOJ and FBI have significantly increased efforts to target Chinese espionage and overseas agents. In another case, Eileen Wong, former mayor of Arcadia, California, admitted in court this May to acting illegally as an agent of the Chinese government. Under her plea agreement, she faces up to 10 years in federal prison with sentencing scheduled for October 6th. The 56-year-old Wong was indicted earlier in May. Between 2020 and 2022, she allegedly followed instructions from Chinese officials to help spread content in the US favorable to the Chinese government without registering as a foreign agent under US law. This is a rare case of foreign influence reaching local politics in Southern California. Eileen Wong was elected to the Arcadia City Council in 2022 and later served as mayor under the council's rotating system. She announced her resignation on May 11th. Federal prosecutors noted that her illegal activities occurred before she held office, but the case has sent shock waves through both local politics and the Chinese American community. During her hearing, Wong gave brief answers to the judge. When asked if she was pleading guilty because she was indeed guilty, she responded yes. Court documents show that Wong and her former fiance, Yaoing Mike's Sun, ran a Chinese language website called US News Center, which publicly claimed to serve the Chinese American community. Prosecutors said the two actually published articles under the direction of Chinese officials and reported back metrics on readership and publication outcomes. Sun had previously admitted to working secretly for the Chinese government and was sentenced to 4 years in federal prison.

[00:11:33]The plea agreement reveals that in June 2021, amid international scrutiny of human rights in Shing Jang, a Chinese official sent Wong a link to a propaganda article on China's position regarding Shing Jang, including a piece by the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles published in the Los Angeles Times.

[00:11:50]Within minutes, Wong reposted the article on her website and notified the official of her publication. The official responded, "So fast. Thank you all." Prosecutors said Wong not only published the articles as instructed, but also modified content based on Chinese officials guidance and voluntarily provided readership data. In August 2021, after one article received more than 15,000 views, she replied to the official, "Thank you, leader."

[00:12:17]Federal prosecutors noted that Wong never disclosed to readers that the content was published at the direction of the Chinese government, potentially violating US foreign agent laws. The case has triggered a political storm at Arcadia City Hall. Wong remains out on a $25,000 bail. A federal judge has ordered her not to contact any Chinese officials, including diplomats in the US. The Wong case is not isolated. It reflects broader cross- agency efforts by the DOJ and FBI to combat espionage and foreign agent activity. In contrast to Wong's soft infiltration, there are more technical and destructive cases involving cyber attacks. 34year-old Chinese citizen Shu Zawi was arrested for participating in the statebacked Hafneam hacking campaign. He is accused of acting under the direction of the Shanghai State Security Bureau engaging in large-scale cyber intrusions that affected more than 12,700 US institutions including universities, companies, and government agencies.

[00:13:20]During the height of the pandemic, one of the targets was infiltrating institutions like the University of Texas to steal CO 19 vaccine and immunity research data. This kind of opportunistic theft during a public health crisis was seen by US authorities as a serious threat. Shrewi has been relatively safe within China. But last year, while traveling to Italy with his wife, he was arrested upon landing in Milan. In April this year, he was extradited to the US and now faces multiple charges in federal court in Houston. The FBI stated, "Protection that Chinese hackers receive inside China does not extend the moment they cross the border." This underscores the US's commitment to extend its reach through international cooperation.

[00:14:04]Together, these cases illustrate the contours of the current US security strategy towards China. From local politicians propaganda activities to covert cyber theft and broader risks related to technology transfer and talent movement all are subject to systemic review. FBI counter intelligence repeatedly emphasizes that the Chinese government and its agents use multiple channels to influence US public opinion, policy and critical technologies. These include media, chambers of commerce, academic exchanges, businesses, and community organizations.

[00:14:40]Recent DOJ prosecution show that enforcement has evolved beyond merely catching spies. Authorities now aim to dismantle the entire ecosystem, targeting intermediaries, freezing assets, sanctioning entities, extraditing suspects, and publicly sharing cases to create deterrence.

[00:14:58]Strengthening the US strategy towards China aligns with the Trump administration's America first and border security priorities. OPT fraud, arrests of foreign nationals at the border, and prosecutions of local agents form a multi-layered enforcement network. China's efforts to co-opt local officials, influence Chinese American communities, penetrate universities and businesses, and manipulate Chinese language media and social platforms present a long-term national security challenge. At the same time, large-scale infiltration creates unprecedented anxiety among lawful Chinese immigrants in the US who are urged to exercise strict self-discipline and avoid becoming bad actors in their communities.