text: The United Nations refugee agency on Monday (Dec 20) called for Thailand to allow them “urgent access” to more than 3,000 Myanmar refugees who fled to the kingdom to escape fighting in a conflict-wracked Karen state. Clashes between Myanmar’s military and the Karen National Union (KNU) – a rebel group vocally opposed to a junta that deposed a civilian government in February – broke out last week in a town not far from the Thai border. Some 700 refugees crossed the river into Thailand’s Tak province on Thursday, fleeing artillery shelling and small arms fire. The clashes started last week after state media reported junta troops entered KNU territory and arrested several dissidents, including a former lawmaker from Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s ousted government. (AC: China has a healthy espionage program against its primary adversaries. The number of relatively senior Taiwan officials compromised by China is alarming but probably proportional to the number of American political and academic officials currently compromised by China in the U.S. with the recent case of MIT professor Gang Chen’s arrest for espionage is just one example. The fighting in Myanmar is part of a long-running battle between Myanmar’s western-backed democracy movement and the Chinese-backed military junta. This past summer, insurgent groups like the Karen National Union joined the democracy movement to overthrow the military junta. China has numerous business interests in Myanmar, which manufacture clothing and other fashion accessories for the U.S. consumer market. Expect continued fighting to impede exports from Myanmar and possibly add to supply chain woes for consumer apparel in the U.S. – M.M.)DOMESTIC SITREP: RECORD-BREAKING BORDER CROSSINGS INCREASE DOMESTIC DESTABILIZATIONRECORD INCREASE IN ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported more than 173,600 total encounters at the border in November. This is the highest number recorded for the month of November. Of the total, 44,000 (25%) are migrant family members, with 114,000 (66%) single adult migrants and 13,000 (7%) are unaccompanied children. November’s numbers mark an increase of 5% for single adult migrants and a 9% increase in unaccompanied children from October. (AC: These numbers indicate an unusually high number of people trying to cross the US border in the winter months. Administration policies have set conditions that are perceived favorable for migrants risking the journey to the southern border compared to the previous administration. Increasing crossing attempts expends CBP members’ limited resources, allowing organized criminal groups to exploit vulnerabilities within the border to increase illegal drug activity within the United States. – D.F.)INCREASING CONCERN OVER THE FENTANYL CRISIS: Congressional leaders met with key stakeholders from different fields of health, law enforcement, and community leaders to talk about the emerging challenges posed by the increased illegal synthetic fentanyl entering the nation through the US border and ports of entry. This meeting highlighted the CDC numbers that reflect approximately 100,000 Americans have died from fentanyl-related overdoses this year. Congressman Gus Bilirakis addressed how China supplies these deadly drugs and a significant need to secure the southern border to allow law enforcement and health professionals to handle this crisis effectively. (AC: Increased illegal drug use has a destabilizing effect on local communities. Fentanyl originating from China to Mexico or South America is a concern during a time of record-high border crossing attempts. Frustrations to the limited federal response to the border challenges are seen within the population and from southern border states, which have led to state-run border projects such as wall construction in Texas. – D.F.)