Police in Florida reported that two vans containing 26 Chinese migrants were stopped on Tuesday morning, and two people suspected of being smugglers were arrested.
The event occurred in Coral Gables, a city close to Miami, and it happened more than a week after a group of over 30 migrants were also caught in vans in the same area.
Coral Gables Police Department Detective Khaled Tahah stated that an attentive citizen contacted the police at approximately 8 a.m. today to report that they believed that Chinese migrants were being transported in passenger vans.
“Our units responded to the area and were able to locate both vans. Traffic stops were conducted on each van and it resulted in a total of 26 people who appear to be Chinese migrants.”
According to Taha, the people who are in the vehicles are a combination of men and women. The two men who are accused of smuggling are both male.
He stated that one of the vans was stopped at 11600 Old Cutler Road, while the other was stopped at the 8800 block of Old Cutler Road in Kendall.
While the police were carrying out the stop, a number of people could be seen sitting on the side of the road. According to the site, they were thereafter loaded onto county trolleys and taken to a destination that has not been disclosed.
Tahah stated that the Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Customs and Border Patrol had arrived at the scene and are now in charge of the investigation.
The incident that occurred on Tuesday took place more than a week after a group of over 30 migrants, the majority of whom were Chinese citizens, were discovered inside a Toyota and a U-Haul truck in Coral Gables. This discovery was made following a report of a supposed abduction.
Coral Gables Police Chief Edward James Hudak Jr. informed reporters that the incident occurred on January 17, when a security guard for a homeowners association reported witnessing an abduction at approximately 9:35 a.m.
Officers halted the vehicles, and they took the woman who was supposedly kidnapped out of the Toyota. According to the police, the U-Haul truck had 16 Chinese females, 15 Chinese males, one guy from Cuba, and one female from Ecuador. The officers then began their investigation of the truck.
According to the authorities, there was a Cuban male, a Brazilian woman, and a man from Ecuador in addition to the migrants in the Toyota.
Reassurance from NYC Mayor: Immigrants’ Rights and Protection Amid Deportation Threats
Investigators were trying to determine whether the woman who may have been abducted was attempting to flee from the people who were supposedly smuggling her. According to the police, the Coral Gables Fire Department came to provide medical assistance to the migrants, who were “tired” but otherwise in good health.
The U.S. Border Patrol took custody of the migrants, and four additional individuals were arrested by the police in connection with the event.
Since 2021, there has been a significant increase in the number of Chinese people who have been encountered at the border.
In the fiscal year 2022, there were 1,970 contacts. In the fiscal year 2023, there were more than 24,000 encounters. As of April 2024, there have been more than 24,200 encounters in the fiscal year 2024.
