CBP, Coast Guard Intercept Boat Carrying 22 Migrants Off Florida, Including 13 Chinese Nationals
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Sep 21
CBP, Coast Guard Intercept Boat Carrying 22 Migrants Off Florida, Including 13 Chinese Nationals
2 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 21
Summary
A 27-foot smuggling vessel carrying 22 migrants was stopped near Angelfish Creek by Key Largo, and authorities arrested everyone aboard without incident.
CBP said an Air and Marine Operations aircraft first detected the boat; the interdiction led to the seizure of the vessel and the arrest of one suspected smuggler, a Cuban national.
The group included 13 Chinese nationals, eight Ecuadorians and one Dominican, a mix officials called unusual because Chinese migrants rarely use Caribbean maritime routes into Florida.
Officials linked the route shift to tighter land-border enforcement in California and Texas under the Trump administration, while warning that illegal sea crossings can end in arrest, removal or death.