(The Center Square) – The Committee on Homeland Security’s Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence Chairman August Pfluger, R-Texas, will hold a hearing Wednesday to discuss threats to the United States by “malign nation-state actors in Central and South America.”

Pfluger said the intent of the hearing is to get a better understanding of how hostile powers could take advantage of the southwest border, particularly foreign nationals colluding with Latin American countries and illegally crossing over into the U.S.

“Border Patrol is already overwhelmed by a record-breaking number of encounters with illegal aliens under Secretary [Alejandro] Mayorkas’ leadership, and now, encounters with individuals from authoritarian countries hostile to the United States, such as China, Russia, Cuba, and Venezuela, have increased dramatically,” Pfluger said in a statement.

Nearly 10,000 Chinese nationals have been apprehended by Border Patrol so far this fiscal year, Pfluger said. One sector saw a 900% increase in apprehended Chinese nationals compared to the previous year.

The hearing is called, “Countering Threats Posed by Nation-State Actors in Latin America to U.S. Homeland Security” and is set to take place at 10 a.m. EST Wednesday.