VANCOUVER - Hearings for some of the Chinese migrants will be heard in Vancouver today. Immigration officials transferred 19 of the migrants to Vancouver Thursday afternoon.

It appears the stringent security surrounding the compound housing the Chinese migrants wasn't enough. Immigration officials decided to transfer 19 of the migrants to Vancouver's pre-trial center. Jim Redmond is the manager of Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

"There was segregation in that they slept and ate in a different area. But people were, it is a gymnasium so you have to appreciate it's not two separate buildings. So there is contact. And there was contact."

Officials believe the nineteen were in some way involved in the smuggling ring, whether as members of the ship's crew or acting as enforcers. RCMP Constable Stacey Rook says the group is the subject of an ongoing police investigation.

"It's too early to say if charges will be laid. We're in the early stages of the criminal investigation. We're still conducting witness interviews with individuals who are in custody at this time."

The 19 will remain in Vancouver through the length of their refugee claimant process. The remainder of the migrants will remain at C.F.B. Esquimalt near Victoria. That's with the exception of a group of eight boys who have been released into government care.