West OC Times

U.S. Reps. Michelle Steel R-CA, and Neal Dunn, M.D., R-FL, have urged U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to prevent anyone participating in what Steel said was "the Chinese Communist Party’s forced organ harvesting industry" from immigrating to the United States, a press release from Steel's office said. Both are members of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

“The CCP’s organ harvesting is a gross human rights violation, and the American People deserve to know how the administration plans to prevent those responsible from exploiting U.S. resources in committing these crimes,” Steel said on Twitter.

“I have met with several survivors of the CCP’s internment camps that torture and enslave minorities, including Uyghurs, and have heard firsthand about the horrors experienced at the hands of the CCP,” Steel said in the news release. “We must do whatever we can to prevent the organ harvesting industry. I look forward to hearing from Secretary Blinken about the steps he is taking to prevent these human rights atrocities from continuing.”

The U.S. should ensure that prior participants in forced organ harvesting have not been allowed to immigrate, the release said. In their letter to Blinken, Dunn and Steel asked that the State Department deny visas to any medical professionals involved in organ harvesting efforts and investigate the issue. As many as 100,000 forced organ harvesting procedures take place each year in China, driving an industry worth up to $1 billion, Real Clear Politics reported.

“The first-hand accounts I’ve heard from victims and survivors of the CCP’s inhumane actions are nothing short of horrific,” Dunn said in the news release from Steel’s office. “Any Chinese healthcare professionals participating in organ harvesting are committing crimes against humanity. The Department of State must take action to ensure these criminals do not have access to immigration status in the United States.”

Earlier this year, House lawmakers passed the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act on a 413-12 vote. If passed by the Senate and signed into law, it would place restrictions on anyone involved in the organ harvesting industry, including denial of entry into the United States, the Catholic News Agency said. The bill and a similar Senate bill have been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Offenders would face fines of up to $1 million and prison terms of up to 20 years, the Catholic News Agency said.