Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told Newsmax on Thursday that he believes that some of the 18,000 Chinese nationals who have crossed the southern border into the U.S. have entered the country to spy for China and collect money from drug sales.
"I think we can only postulate, but look, with the fentanyl crisis going on, the drugs are made in China, passed through the open border — someone's got to collect the money," Marshall said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "So, one of the things they're out there doing is collecting the money from the cartels as they sell that fentanyl. We have to assume these 18,000 Chinese nationals that have crossed the border that are military age — I think that they're spies.
"They're applying to our colleges. They'll be doing research work. They're trying to infiltrate the system at all levels that they can. I'm really concerned about the ones that are doing research in the United States, and infiltrating different tangents from the military as well. So, we have to assume it's no good."
Marshall said that while Democrats might acknowledge that the presence of 18,000 known Chinese citizens and potentially 6,000 got-aways in the U.S. "is a national security problem," they're not willing to "prioritize it."
"This administration tends to live from crisis to crisis, and when you do that, there's little time left to make a plan," he said. "But they have no interest in securing the southern border."
Asked if he supports additional funding for the war in Ukraine, Marshall said he's been "very clear" for months that he "would not give any more funding towards the Ukraine war until we secured our southern border."
"This year alone, this federal government's going to spend $2 trillion more than we took in," he said. "We're going to spend $700 billion in interest. Look, there's just not enough money left to go around the world. I'm still disappointed on the European Union's commitment to this battle as well."
Marshall also mentioned the farmer's mental health campaign he launched to help lower the rates of suicide in the agricultural community, saying farmers feel great pressure.
"September is national suicide prevention month and our farmers and ranchers have a three times higher suicide rate than other professions," he said. "So we are just trying to get the word out across the state, and I appreciate all the different organizations that have helped us do that, that they're not alone. This is the worst economy in the farm, in the ag world, in my entire lifetime.
"Inflation is just kicking them in the tail right now. We've had drought, high interest rates, all those things are adding up to lots of pressure. We have resources out there. People can call 988 or text 988 and say you're in trouble, you're having some challenges.
"Within a minute, you'll be talking to a behavior health specialist of some sort, and they're going to plug you into one of those multiple programs. Even in the last farm bill in 2018, we set up mental health programs for agriculture. We're there to help you, and you're not alone."
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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