Chinese migrant on paddleboard with suitcase in tow apprehended near Bahamas days after separate Florida bust

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US Coast Guard intercepts Chinese migrant on a paddleboard off the Bahamas

The crew of the cutter Sea Horse spotted the man paddling about 25 miles off Freeport, Bahamas, on Tuesday, the U.S. Coast Guard Southeast said. (Credit: Facebook/ U.S. Coast Guard Southeast)

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The U.S. Coast Guard apprehended a Chinese migrant floating on a paddleboard off the Bahamas, officials said.

The man was spotted about 25 miles off Freeport, Bahamas by the Cutter Seahorse, officials said in a social media post Wednesday. 

Photos and video released by the U.S. Coast Guard showed the man paddling on what appeared to be two boards on top of each other, with a few pieces of luggage strapped to them.

The unidentified Chinese national was transported back to the Bahamas, the agency said.

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The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Sea Horse interdicted a Chinese alien aboard a paddleboard approximately 25 miles from Freeport, Bahamas on Tuesday, Feb. 4. (USCG Southeast via X)

The migrant from China was sent back to the Bahamas, the USCG said. (USCG Southeast via X)

The apprehension came just a week after 26 people from China landed in Coral Gables, Florida in what authorities said was a migrant smuggling operation launched from the Bahamas

“We believe they came by boat, they came through a secluded area in the southern end of Coral Gables,” Coral Gables Police Chief Hudak Jr. said in a press release. “They’re coming up through a canal area that leads to a private marina.”

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Two alleged smugglers, along with 26 Chinese migrants – nine women and 17 men – were taken into custody, Hudak Jr. said.

The alleged smugglers were of Cuban and Puerto Rican descent and were carrying a firearm, police said.

Migrants in line in Jacumba, California. Border authorities are contending with an influx of Chinese migrants in a key border sector. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

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. 

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President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan has vowed to tackle illegal immigration from “day one.”

Trump recently signed an executive action suspending asylum for those crossing through the southern border. 

Last month, the Department of Homeland Security expanded its use of “expedited removal,” a process that allows U.S. Customs and Border officials to deport individuals without an immigration court hearing or other appearance before a judge.

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Fox News Digital has reached out to the U.S. Coast Guard Southeast for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw contributed to this report.

Sarah Rumpf-Whitten is a U.S. writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. 

Story tips and ideas can be sent to sarah.rumpf@fox.com and on X: @s_rumpfwhitten.