Officials in New York City are responding to a new report from The Post showing that 58,626 migrants with criminal records or criminal charges are at large in the Big Apple, with a total of about 670,000 nationwide.
Of the 759,218 illegal border crossings that now call the five boroughs home, 7.7% had previously been convicted of crimes or had criminal charges pending, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) data.
But instead of rounding up and deporting tens of thousands of known criminals, critics say the city has rolled out the red carpet with its asylum policy, offering free shelter, money for food and even some plane tickets around the world.
Meanwhile, politicians told The Post they have reached their breaking point with the generous giveaways and lax enforcement taking place under NYC’s sanctuary city policy, placing blame on state and federal officials.
“Kathy Hochul said she would be the first to call ICE if a migrant broke the law — she has more than 58,000 calls to make,” Rep. Mike Lawler — who is considering a run for governor — told The Post.
“Kathy Hochul must immediately end New York’s sanctuary status and fully cooperate with ICE to ensure the safety and well-being of all New Yorkers.”
Hochul, for her part, supported existing policies in the Empire State.
“Governor Hochul will continue to enforce the state’s policies that protect law-abiding immigrants while ensuring violent criminals are held accountable,” said spokesperson Avi Small.
Mayor Eric Adams has repeatedly called for a relaxation of sanctuary city rules to allow migrants “suspected” of serious crimes to be turned over to ICE.
However, Hizzoner has thrown up his hands, claiming he lacks the political support from the City Council that would be needed to change controversial laws banning New York law enforcement from cooperating with investigations of immigration officials.
“The number of migrant criminals is astronomical and frightening,” said Gerard Kassar, chairman of the Conservative Party of New York, a resident of Dyker Heights, Brooklyn.
He said “enough of this nonsense” about New York’s rules that coddle criminals and refuse to cooperate with the FBI.
“The sanctuary policy is counterproductive and makes New York and America unsafe. We must put an end to this madness of the Biden years. New York City and New York State have supported this failed policy,” he told The Post.
This sentiment was not limited to the political right.
Rep. Tom Suozzi, a Democrat whose district includes parts of Nassau County and Queens, was outspoken about the problem and appeared willing to work with Trump and new border czar Tom Homan to resolve it.
“I support the deportation of criminals and will work with the new administration to achieve that goal. We also need to secure the border, fix the broken asylum system and modernize the legal immigration system,” he told The Post.
The burden of the status quo has been borne unevenly by members of the NYPD, who have struggled with the sudden influx of unknown migrants — some with violent criminal histories — flooding city streets.
“We arrest the majority of people. It’s even more frustrating because many of them are repeat offenders and they are simply released from jail to commit more crimes and victimize the hardworking people who live in the area,” a Queens police officer told The Post.
But migrants themselves shared a different story.
A migrant man selling food outside the Roosevelt Hotel — which has been converted into a shelter for asylum seekers at a cost to the city hundreds of millions of dollars — declined to give his name, but said from his perspective the newcomers get a bad rap.
“There are thousands of people in this city and thousands of them are committing crimes. There are many migrants who also commit crimes, but everything that happens here they blame on the migrants,” he said, claiming that he and his cronies were often made “scapegoats.”
