Amid a nationwide crackdown on known criminal aliens in the first days of President Donald Trump’s second arrival at the White House, police and federal agents have stumbled upon dozens of Chinese migrants in Coral Gables, Florida, and arrested at least four suspected smugglers from Cuba and another from Haiti.
Now local authorities are hoping that more resources from the state and federal government will help them protect the coastal enclave, just west of Miami.
The waterfront city has more coastline to protect than Miami Beach.
SMUGGLERS TRANSPORTING VANS PACKED WITH 26 CHINESE MIGRANTS DETAINED IN FLORIDA: POLICE
Multiple law enforcement officers processed a group of illegal migrants, mainly from China, police said, early Tuesday morning, Jan. 28, 2025, around 11600 Old Cutler Road in Coral Gables. Two smugglers were arrested, one from Cuba and one from Puerto Rico, Coral Gables police said. (Pedro Portal/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Police said a witness reported seeing a suspicious man shoving a woman into a Toyota Corolla parked near a U-Haul van. Responding officers, investigating the incident as a possible kidnapping, found 22 migrants in the van, most of them believed to be Chinese. They found three more migrants in the Toyota, from Ecuador and Brazil.
Investigators found it suspicious that they had valuables like phones and jewelry, but no typical items a tourist would carry, including luggage, spare clothes or sunscreen.
The migrants were taken to a U.S. Border Patrol facility.
FLORIDA ABDUCTION REPORT LEADS TO DISCOVERY OF U-HAUL VAN FILLED WITH MOSTLY CHINESE MIGRANTS
At least four Cuban nationals and a Haitian have been arrested in connection with a suspected human smuggling ring bringing in illegal aliens from the Bahamas via boat. (Fox News)
Police arrested three Cuban nationals on suspicion of smuggling the migrants: Lucas Sedeno Rodriguez, 52, Jose Luis Villares, 55, and Keiner Cicilia Rodriguez, 39.
The migrants had all arrived via boat from the Bahamas, according to federal prosecutors.
Sedeno Rodriguez allegedly told investigators that he had been offered $5,000 from a contact named “Miggy” to pick up the migrants once they landed.
Multiple law enforcement officers processed a group of illegal migrants, mainly from China, police said, early Tuesday morning, Jan. 28, 2025, around 11600 Old Cutler Road in Coral Gables. Two smugglers were arrested, one from Cuba and one from Puerto Rico, Coral Gables police said. (Pedro Portal/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Police captured the group before it could reach the intended drop-off in Miami-Dade County, according to court documents.
Days later, another 911 caller in the same community reported seeing a large number of people coming ashore at a private marina, according to Coral Gables Police Chief Edward Hudak.
They climbed into two vans, which police pulled over down the road. Inside they found a group of 26 Chinese nationals.
A U-Haul van where Chinese migrants were found is towed from the scene in Coral Gables, Florida on Friday. (WSVN-TV)
Authorities arrested the drivers of both vans, identifying them as another Cuban and a Haitian. One of them had a gun, Hudak said.
CHINA’S INFLUENCE ON PANAMA CANAL POSES ‘ACUTE RISKS TO US NATIONAL SECURITY,’ SEN CRUZ WARNS
It was not immediately clear whether both events were connected, but Hudak told reporters Tuesday that both groups of migrants came ashore in the same area, and police were monitoring the potential route from the Bahamas.
The chief said they are working with local and federal agencies to monitor migrants coming ashore.
DEEPSEEK FALLOUT: GOP SEN JOSH HAWLEY SEEKS TO CUT OFF ALL US-CHINA COLLABORATION ON AI DEVELOPMENT
Coral Gables Police Chief Edward James Hudak Jr. speaks with reporters about a group of migrants found in a U-Haul vehicle on Friday. (WSVN-TV)
Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Illegal immigrants from China have increased in number dramatically over the past several years, Fox News Digital previously reported.
Between the fiscal years of 2021 and 2024, they accounted for an increase of more than 8,000%.
The spike comes as U.S. lawmakers are warning China’s influence in South and Central America and its rising tech industry pose national security threats.
Fox News’ Heather Lacy contributed to this report.