How NYC ‘sanctuary’ status allows violent migrant gang Tren de Aragua to thrive in Big Apple shelters
The Big Apple’s migrant-friendly “sanctuary city” status has allowed the vicious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua to flourish inside local migrant shelters, handcuffing cops and keeping immigration agents in the dark, law enforcement sources tell The Post.
The gang has infiltrated the shelter system to build a criminal enterprise that peddles drugs, guns and women in the five boroughs — but the restrictive policy largely bars the NYPD from policing the facilities and prohibits the city from tipping off federal immigration agents about dangerous illegal immigrants, the sources said.
“It was an unintended consequence of this administration’s policies,” a source with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in New York told The Post. “However, the New York City Council and the mayor’s office exasperated the issue with polices that ignore federal law.
“They claim they are protecting the communities from ICE, all the while releasing these dangerous criminals back into the communities they preyed upon.”
Cities and states that proclaim immigration sanctuary status — which include California, Illinois, Colorado, Massachusetts and New York — vow not to cooperate with federal immigration officials.
That means local authorities will not hold wanted illegal immigrants for ICE and they won’t tip off the feds if they have a migrant fugitive in their custody for a local crime.
Migrants who are convicted locally are typically released after serving their time in jail and are not held for ICE agents to nab them and begin deportation proceedings under sanctuary policies.
In New York City, the policy was adopted decades ago then codified under former Mayor Bill de Blasio — and it remains in effect under the auspices of the City Council.
For the NYPD, it means city Health and Hospitals and Homeless Services officials have strict limits on police access to migrant shelter and health services in the five boroughs.
“The sanctuary city status eliminates the fear of expulsion,” NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said.
“If you’re a migrant member of TDA or any criminal group and you know the existing laws, or existing sentiment on prosecution, and you know you’re not getting kicked out of the country, for them it’s worth the risk,” the chief told The Post.
Cops are barred from patrolling the shelters housing asylum seekers, unless it’s due to a 911 call, a health emergency or if they have a warrant or a subpoena after a “cumbersome” process, sources said.
Even then, the department is hampered — a police raid at the Randall’s Island migrant shelter last month, which stemmed from reports that Tren de Aragua was stashing guns in cars at the site, fizzled after the gangbangers were tipped off and stashed the cache.
Investigators suspect that private security guards at the facility may have tipped off the migrants, sources said.
“The biggest challenge is the infrastructure for sharing information isn’t there,” one frustrated law enforcement source told The Post on Monday. “That makes Randall’s Island ideal because it’s big, it’s hidden — and you can exploit that.”
According to sources, the private guards, who are barred from working hand-in-hand with the NYPD, have allowed guns and drugs to filter into the shelters because food deliveries where the items are stashed are not searched or put through metal detectors before being allowed in.
Meanwhile, Tren de Aragua, whose members hid among the tens of thousands of migrants flowing into the US, have been recruiting new members from within the shelters.
Mayor Eric Adams has maintained at press briefings that he believes the city’s sanctuary status is “a mistake,” and blames the City Council for the restrictive policy.
“I wish I did have that power and authority, as well as a power and authority to modify our sanctuary city law,” Adams told reporters on Sept. 6.
“I don’t believe if a person commits a violent felony act that we should not coordinate with ICE to have that person removed from our country after they served their time,” he said.
At an earlier briefing on Aug. 27, the mayor said that migrants who commit crimes “should not remain in our country after they serve their time.”
However, critics question why Adams has not pursued an executive order that could curtail some of the restrictions under the sanctuary city designation.
“Our priority is to keep every individual in our care — and New Yorkers at large — safe, which is why all of our migrant shelters have 24/7 security and inspections of all bags and packages, including food delivery bags,” a City Hall spokesperson said. “We have been clear that anyone who violates the code of conduct or threatens the safety of other shelter residents and staff may be subject to loss of shelter.”
Officials at the NYPD and ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
