Smugglers Send More Chinese Toward U.S.
Smuggling of Chinese immigrants into the United States is on the rise again, with at least 10 vessels bearing human cargoes now approaching America’s shores, a senior U.S. diplomat said Tuesday.
Within the last two months, the Coast Guard has interdicted two ships with 212 would-be Chinese immigrants aboard.
“We are particularly concerned about the problem of the smuggling of Chinese because of the pervasive use of violence by Chinese smuggling gangs,” said Robert Perito, director of the State Department’s Office of International Criminal Justice.
“We have intelligence reports that 10 more vessels are now on their way,” Perito told reporters. He did not give details on the boats.
The 127-foot Fang Ming, which was intercepted last month off the Mexican coast with 80 Chinese on board, is being escorted to San Salvador, and its passengers will be returned to China, he said.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service estimated that 19,000 Chinese were living illegally in the United States in 1992.
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