Miami-Dade County

Migrants from China make a landing in Sunny Isles Beach, feds say

Federal agents stand by a group of people sitting on Sunny Isles Beach Monday, May 15, 2023, who the Border Patrol said are migrants from China.
Federal agents stand by a group of people sitting on Sunny Isles Beach Monday, May 15, 2023, who the Border Patrol said are migrants from China.

U.S. Border Patrol agents took 10 people into custody they say were among a group of migrants who came ashore in Sunny Isles Beach Monday morning.

The people were caught around 11:30 a.m. in what the Border Patrol called in a statement released on Twitter, “a suspected maritime smuggling event.”

According to Miami Herald news partner CBS News Miami, the location of the encounter was at the beach at around 167th Street, north of Haulover.

The Border Patrol didn’t release anymore details about the incident on Monday. The agency did not immediately respond to questions from the Miami Herald.

CBS News Miami, citing police, reported the migrants were part of a larger group of about 15 people dropped off in the surf.

The news station reported that law enforcement searched the beach and behind nearby buildings for other members of the migrant group, but did not find more people.

This story was originally published May 15, 2023 at 5:40 PM.

David Goodhue
Miami Herald
David Goodhue covers the Florida Keys and South Florida for FLKeysNews.com and the Miami Herald. Before joining the Herald, he covered Congress, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy in Washington, D.C. He is a graduate of the University of Delaware. 
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