DHS warning to cops: 830-percent increase in seizures of Chinese signal jammers

By Bethany Blankley
The Center Square 

There’s been an 830-percent increase in the amount of U.S. Customs and Border Protection seizures of Chinese-manufactured signal jammers since 2021, posing a threat to law enforcement operations, according to a new Department of Homeland Security warning.

DHS issued the warning to law enforcement saying the increased amount of signal jammers being smuggled into the U.S. poses "a threat to public safety and civilian aviation.” CBP “has seen a roughly 830-percent increase in seizures since 2021, despite Chinese companies’ attempts to subvert inspection,” it said.

Signal jammers are often used “to disrupt a range of radio frequency channels, and pose a threat to emergency response, law enforcement and critical infrastructure,” the warning states.

Signal jammers are being used by a new organized theft ring that emerged under the Biden administration, South American Theft Groups (SATG). “South American illegal aliens jam calls to local police during home invasions or bank robberies in Florida, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont, and Virginia,” DHS said.

Under the Biden administration, as a record number of illegal border crossers made their way throughout the U.S., law enforcement officials recognized a similar trend of vehicle theft, targeted home burglaries and violent crimes, connecting them to SATG. SATG are believed to be run primarily by Columbian and Chilean nationals who either illegally entered the U.S. or exploited a visa program, law enforcement officials nationwide have found, The Center Square reported.

Officials from across the country testified before Congress about Chilean gang members committing violent crimes in residential neighborhoods only to learn they had been released into the country by the Biden administration, The Center Square reported.

Last year, Florida sheriffs identified SATG members targeting Asian Americans in six counties, The Center Square reported. By December, the NFL issued a security alert to players after professional football players’ homes were being targeted and broken into throughout the Midwest, The Center Square reported.

In Texas, DHS working with local authorities identified an SATG ring operating in Houston and Laredo tied to stolen merchandise in Minnesota, The Center Square reported.

In February of 2025, law enforcement in Texas “recovered a signal jammer while arresting an illegal alien from Chile,” DHS said.

“Signal jammers have been used by illegal aliens across the country to jam communications during police operations, bank robberies, burglaries, and other dangerous crimes,” a DHS spokesperson said. “Under the vigilance of CBP, national security begins at America’s ports. As Chinese manufacturers attempt to smuggle signal jammers, we will continue to seize these tools of terrorism. President [Donald] Trump and [DHS] Secretary [Kristi] Noem will always protect America’s critical infrastructure and law enforcement.”

Federal law prohibits “the private import, operation, marketing, or sale of any signal jamming equipment that interferes with law enforcement communications, GPS, or radar,” DHS says. Despite the signal jammers being manufactured in China, they are banned in Beijing for public use.

The SATG crime wave exploded in the U.S. as a record nearly 500,000 Columbian nationals illegally entered the U.S. under the Biden administration, The Center Square reported. Chilean national illegal entries also increased because many Haitians who illegally entered the country had Chilean passports and identification because they were living and working there, The Center Square has reported. Under the Biden administration, a record nearly 700,000 Haitians were reported illegally entering the U.S., The Center Square reported.

The DHS warning comes after a U.S. House report identified hundreds of Chinese espionage incidents within three years under the Biden administration, and after the greatest number of Chinese nationals illegally entered the U.S. in recorded history over the same time period – more than 176,000 nationwide, The Center Square exclusively reported.