Terror threat? Discovery of new Chinese migrant smuggling route has U.S. officials on alert

FLORIDA – A report from the Daily Caller claims federal authorities are becoming progressively worried regarding a route leading to Florida that is being used by Chinese migrants to enter the country illegally.

The news of this reportedly Chinese migrant route came by way of a “Unclassified/Law Enforcement Sensitive” document detailing the South Florida JIOCC (Joint Intelligence Operations Coordination Center) Weekly SITREP (Situation Report) dated July 18 – July 31, mentioning that a currently unknown entity is coordinating the smuggling between the Bahamas and Florida.

According to the obtained report, law enforcement is currently devoid of any solid leads on who specifically is coordinating the smuggling between the Bahamas and Florida, nor are officials clear as to where exactly the migrants are being staged in the Caribbean Islands – or even why the Chinese are choosing the aforementioned islands in the first place. 

The report also mentioned five other incidents involving Chinese migrants trying to “self-smuggle” via the Bahamas, one such event having occurred on July 16th where a group of six Chinese migrants were reportedly involved. Per the report, “The Chinese migrants purchased a Bahamian registered vessel…in GBI and tested the capabilities before leaving and being interdicted in Palm Beach. All six Chinese migrants were repatriated to the Bahamas.”

CBP data shows that nationwide encounters of Chinese migrants have seen an unusual spike beginning in April of fiscal year 2023, with the number of encounters during the period with said migrants being well over double the typical amount encountered when compared to fiscal years 2020, 2021, and 2022. While the spike seen in April is beginning to trend back downward, the 2023 data for May and June is still well beyond the past three fiscal years.



To put these number into perspective, fiscal year 2023 has already seen more encounters with Chinese migrants than any of the year-end total encounters for 2020, 2021, and 2022.

Florida is of course seeing an exponential increase of Chinese migrants in tandem with the rest of the country in fiscal year 2023, with Chinese migrant apprehensions up over 500% when compared to the year-end total for the state in fiscal year 2022.

Back in May, following the surge of Chinese migrants invading the United States, renowned China expert Gordan Chang commented on the matter, remarking that part of the surge could be influenced by growing “pessimism” amid China’s middle class.

“Right now in China there’s extreme pessimism, especially among people in their 20s about the future of their country, so it’s understandable that they’re leaving and they’re trying to get into the United States," Chang said. "And, you know, these are people who are relatively middle class, so it shows you the problems in Chinese society are severe. And that to me, suggests that this is going to get worse because these numbers are staggering.”

However, Chang couldn’t discount the possibility that a sudden surge in Chinese migrants could be infested with individuals harboring nefarious intentions.

“When I first saw that the surge in Chinese migrants," he said, "that’s [when] the thought that came to my mind that these are either Ministry of State Security agents or Chinese military, who are coming to this country to commit acts of sabotage against the US.”
 
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