As reports continue to emerge showing the extent of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) efforts to undermine the United States at the state and local level through the infiltration of universities, staffs of public officials, and nonprofit organizations, experts say the Trump administration must prioritize strong partnerships between federal intelligence agencies and local law enforcement in order to shut down CCP operations within the U.S.

On Wednesday, a new report was released detailing the extent of the communist regime’s efforts to subvert American society on a host of fronts. The report, produced by State Armor and Citizens for Free Enterprise, puts a special focus on the CCP’s efforts at the state and local level to acquire U.S. farmland, disrupt critical infrastructure, and infiltrate American universities to steal sensitive technology, promote communist ideology, and harass and intimidate those who express opposition to authoritarian ideas. As noted by Alexander Gray, a former Trump administration White House official, many states and localities are not fully aware of the dangers that CCP infiltrators pose and are therefore vulnerable to influence operations.

“China’s ambitions have become clear: Undermine the West at any cost,” Former White House National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien stated in the report. “U.S. vulnerabilities are not only a federal problem but also a national problem that requires a coordinated response at the state and local level.”

Recent incidents have illustrated how the CCP is targeting state and local officials. In September, Linda Sun, a former deputy chief of staff to New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) and aide to former Governor Andrew Cuomo, was arrested and charged on numerous counts relating to acting as an agent for the Chinese government. Then in December, the FBI arrested Yaoning “Mike” Sun, who served as a campaign manager for an Arcadia, California city council member, for acting as an agent for the CCP.

The extent of the CCP’s infiltration into American society was further demonstrated on Wednesday with a new report from the Daily Caller (DCNF), which describes how CCP-linked nonprofit organizations in the U.S. have established an underground “justice system” that targets Chinese dissidents for punishment and repatriation.

As detailed by the DCNF, “Located throughout California, the greater Washington, D.C. area, Hawaii, and New York, the network of more than a dozen nonprofits share information with Chinese law enforcement officials, and some also host unsanctioned courtrooms in the U.S.” While Xi Jinping’s regime claims that their overseas officials merely “handle mundane matters like Chinese driver’s license renewal and international divorce cases,” U.S. law enforcement agencies have found that the officials are likely involved in “forced repatriation operations with Ministry of Public Security (MPS) officials in China.”

In addition, these underground stations act as sources of CCP espionage against the U.S., say experts. “In reality, they are means by which the CCP can monitor and, when needed, punish members of the Chinese diaspora if they deviate from the CCP agenda,” Dr. Lawrence Sellin, a national security expert, told the DCNF. “That degree of control allows the CCP to enlist Chinese community members, willingly or unwillingly, as foot soldiers in the conduct of influence and espionage operations in the United States, which represents a national security threat.”

In comments to The Washington Stand, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Bob Maginnis, Family Research Council’s senior fellow for National Security, argued that the Trump administration needs to put a strong emphasis on making sure local law enforcement across the country has the intelligence it needs to disrupt and eliminate underground CCP operations on U.S. soil.

“This effort must be coordinated between the CIA, FBI, and local authorities,” he emphasized. “Our foreign intelligence-focused agencies must monitor foreign agents operating inside America to alert domestic authorities, such as Chinese agents intimidating Americans or foreign permanent residents. We’ve seen Chinese ‘police’ outposts in American cities, and we know that President Xi Jinping established a number of global programs to reinforce his ambitions, which are evidenced by the CCP’s use of government agencies to monitor ex-pats and in some cases force them back to China to face prosecution.”

Maginnis went on to underscore how all-encompassing China’s cold war with the U.S. has become.

“We know that since Mao, the CCP has employed irregular, all-of-government warfare against the West,” he explained. “That means every Chinese contact with the West must be scrutinized to ascertain how it can be leveraged to advantage the PRC. This is true in all business enterprises, certainly true with all academic settings, certainly in terms of media outlets and much more. China has a pervasive influence in America, top to bottom. That’s why in my book ‘Kings of the East’ I’ve outlined in chapter nine a robust call to reset our relationship with the PRC.”

“Unfortunately, too many naive Americans have no understanding of the 50 million-strong CCP that totally embraces the Marxist-Leninist ideology,” Maginnis concluded. “They will never play by our rules, and we are understandably offended by their rules. Obviously, a major effort to educate the American public, top to bottom about that radical ideology, is an absolute necessity.”