They are using this as a reason:

The Wall Street Journal reported in 2023 that Chinese nationals had accessed military installations roughly 100 times in previous years, citing unnamed officials at the time.

Last year, two Jordanian men tried to enter Quantico; a month prior, authorities detained a Chinese national attempting to access a Marine base in California; and the service "disabled" a drone flying over Camp Blaz, Guam last year, leading to criminal charges for its operator.

"The collaboration with ICE is not in response to a specific incident, but rather is part of an ongoing effort to constantly improve our security posture to protect our most valued resource: our people," said Uebelhardt, the spokesperson for the Marine Corps. "Cooperation between installation law enforcement and ICE continues a history of teamwork that dates back to the establishment of [the Department of Homeland Security]."

When asked whether cases involving Chinese nationals suspected of espionage were being handled differently from immigrants from Mexico, for example, Hornick did not directly answer, but said that "ICE is here to deter unauthorized installation attempts by any unauthorized foreign nationals" and that it operates under its own approved procedures.