A shooting in Times Square. Police officers jumped in midtown Manhattan. Thieves on mopeds snatching purses in Brooklyn. An immigrant crime wave has exploded in recent weeks across deportation-free New York, a “sanctuary city” that has attracted almost 200,000 border crossers in less than two years.
Authorities blame the surge in violence on “asylum seekers” with connections to Latin American street gangs known for drug smuggling, human trafficking and killings.
“What goes on in Third World countries is happening on the streets of New York — every day, any borough, with no consequences,” Vickie Paladino, a member of the New York City Council from Queens, told The Washington Times.
Ms. Paladino, one of the handful of Republicans on the 51-member City Council, specifically cited Venezuelan migrants with affiliation with the notorious Tren de Aragua gang as a growing concern for New Yorkers.
Federal immigration agents picked up Kelvin Servita-Arocha, 19, and Wilson Omar Juarez-Aguilarte, 21, last week. The Homeland Security Department says they have ties to Venezuela’s largest crime syndicate.
Both were booked last month after a mob of people punched and kicked two New York Police Department officers trying to make an arrest outside a migrant shelter.
The two men and three others were arrested shortly after the Jan. 27 assault but were released when the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office didn’t seek bail. Lawmakers in both political parties widely condemned their release, and Gov. Kathy Hochul called for their deportation.
Darwin Andres Gomez-Izquiel, suspected in the mob assault, was arrested again last week in connection with a robbery of a Macy’s in Queens.
Authorities haven’t said whether the 19-year-old is affiliated with any organized crime groups.
The New York Post reported that Tren de Aragua is collaborating with the Salvadoran gang MS-13 and is expanding its criminal enterprise to America’s largest city.
“Tren de Aragua engages in extortion, kidnapping, robbery, homicide for hire — these guys are hit men — drug and human trafficking, smuggling, all kinds of different things,” Gregg Etter, a criminologist at the University of Central Missouri who studies the Venezuelan gang, told The Times. “One thing about this group is they’re extremely adaptable and they have a very short learning curve.”
Mr. Etter said Tren de Aragua is responsible for a spate of moped-aided robberies tormenting pedestrians in New York City.
The gang will use gas-powered scooters to swipe phones and handbags while zipping through city streets.
The criminologist said the thieves hack the stolen phones and wire money to their leaders in South America.
Afterward, they ship the devices to Venezuela, where the phones are wiped and resold. The gang didn’t pick up the practice until members started arriving in the U.S., Mr. Etter said.
The thieves aren’t gentle during their heists.
Surveillance footage shared by the New York Police Department showed a 62-year-old woman still clutching her purse get knocked loose by robbers after they dragged her into a metal bike rack.
“They’re from these impoverished countries where they can’t eat, so they rob people,” Ms. Paladino said. “They have no money, so they knock old ladies down like they did here on a moped.”
Venezuelan migrants who aren’t connected to gangs are also causing problems in New York.
A 15-year-old migrant was charged with attempted murder this month after an armed assailant shot up a sporting goods store in Times Square.
Jesus Alejandro Rivas-Figueroa was accused of hitting a Brazilian tourist in the hail of bullets inside the business on Feb. 8 after he was stopped for shoplifting. Police said the teen shot at pursuing officers as he ran from authorities.
Prosecutors said Mr. Rivas-Figueroa, who was charged as an adult, tried to flee the area the night of the shooting.
Police tracked down the teen in Yonkers a day later. A judge ordered him to stay in jail while he awaits trial because of his “significant ties” to people in Venezuela.
Tren de Aragua has made its mark in other parts of the U.S., including Miami-Dade County, Florida, where a retired Venezuelan police officer was killed in November.
Other cities have increased arrests of Venezuelan migrants as more enter the country.
CWBChicago cited police data showing arrests of 686 Venezuelans last year, a considerable increase from 26 in 2022.
Some view the uptick in migrant crime as the predictable result of President Biden’s border policies.
“Biden will come up with these just completely chaotic asylum and parole policies, and the next thing you know, we’ve got people flooding across the border,” said Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform. “Obviously, within that flood are people who are members of gangs, and apparently those gangs are in communication with people back in Venezuela. This is international organized gang violence and crime.”
The Biden administration’s position on allowing thousands of Venezuelans to enter the U.S. with temporary protected status while pushing to expel a host of illegal immigrants has led to confusion about their ability to enter the U.S., Mr. Stein said.
Homeland Security Director Alejandro Mayorkas said this fall that the U.S. would begin deporting Venezuelans.
The administration said it would grant work permits to the roughly 472,000 Venezuelans who arrived before July 31. About 242,000 Venezuelans had qualified for work permits at the time of Mr. Mayorkas’ announcement.
Officials said those who come to the U.S. after the cutoff date would be sent back to Venezuela. Over a decade, natives have fled a humanitarian crisis in the beleaguered socialist country.
Mr. Etter said 95% of illegal immigrants coming to the U.S. are well-meaning people looking for a better life, but the remaining 5% who enter the country unlawfully treat the flimsy border policies as an invitation to further test the American criminal justice system.
In New York, Ms. Paladino said she is introducing legislation for police to list immigration status on arrest reports.
The goal is to give authorities a clearer idea of how often migrants are involved in crimes. New York Mayor Eric Adams prodded the council to cooperate once again with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal agency that oversees deportations of people in the country illegally.
The agreement, weakened in 2014 during Mayor Bill de Blasio’s tenure, strengthened New York’s status as a “sanctuary city.” Mayor Ed Koch gave illegal immigrants certain protections in the 1980s.
Ms. Paladino said she isn’t confident that her council colleagues will see the value in her bill because many view the illegal immigrants as “asylum seekers.”
“I don’t see the tide turning,” she said. “If the mayor really wants to do what he needs to do, that’s using the power of the pen with an executive order.”
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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