❓WHAT HAPPENED: Two illegal immigrants from China were arrested after their U.S.-born daughter allegedly brought a bomb to a military base in Tampa, Florida.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Qiu Qin Zou, Jia Zhang Zheng, Ann Mary Zheng, Alen Zheng, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of Justice (DHS), and the U.S. Air Force.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Couple arrested in March 2026; the attempted bombing by the couple’s daughter took place at MacDill Air Force Base Visitor’s Center, Tampa, Florida.
💬KEY QUOTE: “Automatically granting citizenship to children of illegal aliens born in the U.S. is based on a historically inaccurate interpretation of the Citizenship Clause and poses a major national security risk.” – Lauren Bis, Acting Assistant Secretary to the Department for Homeland Security.
🎯IMPACT: The arrests highlight connections between illegal immigration, birthright citizenship, and national security in light of President Donald J. Trump’s pursuit of birthright citizenship reform.
A man and a woman from China, both illegal immigrants, have been arrested by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after their children brought an explosive device to a U.S. military base.
“Automatically granting citizenship to children of illegal aliens born in the U.S. is based on a historically inaccurate interpretation of the Citizenship Clause and poses a major national security risk,” said Lauren Bis, Acting Assistant Secretary at DHS, in response to the incident, adding that it “underscores the severe national security threat that illegal immigration and birthright citizenship pose to the United States.”
Qiu Qin Zou and Jia Zhang Zheng illegally entered the United States in the 1990s but remained in the country for decades, despite being denied asylum in 1993 and ordered to leave in 1998. Their appeals were denied on multiple occasions by the Board of Immigration Appeals. While illegally residing in the U.S., the couple had two children: Ann Mary Zheng and Alen Zheng.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has now charged the 27-year-old daughter, Ann Mary Zheng, for trying to detonate an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) at MacDill Air Force Base Visitor’s Center in Tampa, Florida. She was arrested after returning from China. U.S. authorities suspect her brother, Alen Zheng, currently resides there.
Upon identification, DHS arrested the parents of Ann Mary Zheng and Alen Zheng on March 18 for illegally entering and residing in the U.S.
This case coincides with the recent push by President Donald J. Trump to overhaul birthright citizenship. President Trump recently attended Supreme Court oral arguments over his attempt to restrict birthright citizenship by Executive Order, becoming the first sitting president to do so.
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