Exclusive: Sen. Jim Banks Calls for Investigation into Foreign-Funded Anti-ICE Groups

Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) has called for a federal investigation into anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activist groups he says are being organized and funded by foreign entities,...

ing agents of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

In a Wednesday letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi obtained by Breitbart News, Banks urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to look into the growing “national and coordinated” network of radical leftists protesting ICE in events that often turn violent.

“I urge you to investigate foreign influence behind anti-ICE activism. Progressive groups across the country are organizing protests, economic boycotts, and school walkouts to oppose immigration enforcement,” the senator wrote. “In many cases, they are inciting the obstruction of federal law.”

Pointing to examples of protesters assaulting federal officers, blocking and ramming vehicles, and storming churches, Banks argued that the government “must identify who is behind this chaos before it tears the country apart.”

Highlighting local authorities in Democrat-run jurisdictions who refuse to cooperate with federal law enforcement, financing from major left-wing donors, and sympathy from the mainstream media, Banks noted that “foreign adversaries” to the U.S. are “not disinterested parties” in the anti-ICE activist movement. 

Just last week, the U.S. Department of State identified a network of progressive groups run by left-wing billionaire Neville Singham as a source of Chinese influence, the Indiana Republican explained. 

A recent Breitbart News Foundation (BNF) review of corporate records uncovered even closer than previously reported ties between Star Stream, the Shanghai-based consulting firm founded by Singham, and Maku, a Chinese media firm that the New York Times has identified as specializing in propaganda for the Chinese communist regime.

While many Singham beneficiaries promote and defend the CCP, Banks explained that Singham Network groups have also led anti-ICE boycotts and school walkouts across the country, before pointing to Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss as another foreign source involved.

A 2022 New York Post article detailed how Wyss had donated tens of millions of dollars to progressive politicians and causes in “dark money” contributions despite not being a U.S. citizen. 

Banks also cited a report from Americans for Public Trust, showing that Wyss bankrolled pro-abortion ballot measures around the U.S. 

According to the senator, groups funded by Wyss have sponsored ICE resistance trainings with the stated purpose of “interfering” with federal law enforcement activities around the country.

He then presented the DOJ with four questions, with a request to receive answers by April 5:

1. Of the groups promoting and participating in anti-ICE activities, how many are in any way funded or organized by foreign sources? Of these foreign sources, how many come from countries of concern or countries that promote radical Islam?

2. The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) requires agents of foreign principals to disclose their status and activities as foreign agents. Have any groups funded by Neville Singham ever registered with the Department of Justice as foreign agents acting on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party or Mr. Singham?

3. Singham Network groups are financed and very likely directed by an agent of the Chinese Communist Party. Considering this relationship, is it the view of the Department of Justice that Singham Network member groups are legally obligated to disclose their status as a foreign agent under FARA?

4. Other agencies have revoked benefits from non-profits that materially support illegal immigration, violate state tort law, and engage in violence for the purpose of obstructing the federal government, on the grounds that such activities have a “substantial illegal purpose.” What plans does the Department of Justice have to hold non-profits that may oppose ICE to their obligation to follow U.S. law?

“Foreign principals should not dictate America’s immigration policy, and they should not encourage American citizens or guests of this country to obstruct law enforcement,” Banks wrote in his conclusion to Bondi. “At a minimum, we should know who is funding anti-ICE activism, what influence those funders are wielding, and whether they are acting as agents of our adversaries.”

Olivia Rondeau is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in Washington, DC. Find her on X/Twitter and Instagram. 

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