Ending Sanctuary Laws to Address Increase in NYC Migrant-Related Crimes

The presence of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua among migrants in New York City requires lawmakers to reconsider state and local laws that prevent the NYPD from collaborating with federal immigration authorities to tackle these criminal aliens.

There is growing evidence of a crime wave fueled by criminal migrants living in city shelters.

The moped gang believed to be responsible for at least 62 cases of grand larceny across the city since November is reportedly linked to Tren de Aragua.

NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban described the migrants involved in the criminal activity as “ghost criminals,” and pointed out the challenges law enforcement faces in tracking them due to their lack of criminal history, photos, or personal information.

While the NYPD may not have enough information on these “ghost criminals,” Homeland Security, Border Patrol, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have a database of suspected Tren de Aragua gang members and others.

It is unreasonable for the NYPD and its federal partners to maintain separate gang databases on criminal migrants and their affiliations in Latin America.

There are concerns about Tren de Aragua potentially teaming up with El Salvador’s MS-13, which has ties to Mexican cartels, making it imperative for local law enforcement to collaborate with federal agencies, including ICE, to coordinate arrests and facilitate deportation of criminal migrants.

However, the city’s sanctuary law prohibits notifying ICE or sharing information about criminal migrants, which hinders deportation proceedings for those who break the law.

Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams should work towards repealing laws that make it difficult to identify, arrest, and expel criminal migrants.

Politicians have contributed to unwinding law and order and undermining the police through soft-on-crime laws, and it is important to prevent foreign gangs from having privileges that endanger New York’s most vulnerable population.