By A new Daily Caller News Foundation investigation has uncovered ties between a New York–based organization connected to the Chinese government and efforts to help Chinese nationals, including those who entered the country illegally, secure commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) and jobs in the American trucking industry.
According to the report, the group—Chinese American Trucker Organization USA Inc. (CATOU)—operates as a nonprofit trade association and claims to have assisted more than 1,000 Chinese individuals in obtaining CDLs, touting a “100% success rate.” Videos reviewed by DCNF show at least one migrant who crossed the southern border illegally obtaining a California CDL with help from CATOU-affiliated instructors.
The outlet notes that CATOU’s leader, Geng Hang, has held positions in organizations tied to Beijing’s United Front Work Department (UFWD), an entity of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) involved in overseas influence and intelligence operations. The revelation has prompted warnings from national security experts about potential risks to public safety and U.S. infrastructure.
“No way American citizens voted for the California gateway for illegal migrants to operate heavy vehicles throughout America. That of itself is a public safety and homeland security concern,” said Steve Yates, a senior fellow on China and national security at the Heritage Foundation. “Having a large CCP-tied network further train, certify, and place ‘their’ illegal migrants throughout vital surface shipping routes—urban, rural, and interstate—elevates national security risks,” he added.
The investigation came out shortly after Oklahoma’s governor revealed that liberal states like California and New York are issuing “no-name” truck licenses that see sanctuary states empowering illegal truck drivers across state lines.
The investigation also details how CATOU educators have conducted trucking courses at the Red Apple Employment Agency, another Geng-run operation in New York that reportedly connects Chinese workers—regardless of legal status—to jobs for small fees, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Though no official registration for Red Apple exists in New York, videos circulating on Chinese social media display signage for both organizations at the same location.
CATOU instructors have also been linked to the 7 CDL Driving School in Manassas, Virginia, which shares an address with Geng’s company, Red Apple Enterprises Inc. One social media user, @tiange999, who illegally entered the U.S. in 2023, posted videos showing training sessions and claimed “not one” of the more than 1,000 Chinese students failed the CDL test. The account also documented earning a full CDL within two months and later driving for NC Transfer Inc., a company operating in North Carolina and New York.
The DCNF report cites federal data showing that from fiscal years 2021 to 2024, more than 182,000 Chinese nationals entered the U.S. illegally, part of roughly 8.5 million total border encounters under the Biden administration.
Concerns have mounted following a fatal crash in Florida in August 2025 involving an undocumented truck driver with a California CDL who reportedly spoke little English. The incident has spurred the incoming Trump administration to tighten oversight of the trucking sector. “These guys are already here, and they’re already operating,” said Justin Martin, a 15-year trucking veteran quoted in the report. “It doesn’t matter how many of these trucks you catch… they’re just going to get hired somewhere else until they start going after the companies and shutting them down.”
DCNF also found that Geng serves as deputy chair of the American Shaanxi General Chamber of Commerce (ASGCC), a New York nonprofit linked to China’s Shaanxi provincial commerce department and a UFWD subsidiary, the China Overseas Friendship Association. The group has hosted Chinese officials exploring U.S. investment opportunities and held events honoring the Chinese Communist Party. It has been accused of “mixing ctime and patriotism as it serves Beijing.”
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