(Headline USA) New York City is sheltering nearly 60,000 illegal migrants who are facing or have already been convicted of criminal charges, according to the New York Post.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement data showed that 58,626 of the 759,218 illegal migrants living in New York City, or 7.7% of the city’s migrant population, have some sort of criminal rap sheet.
Of the 58,626 criminal migrants, 1,153 are “suspected or known gang members,” ICE added.
If New York officials refuse to change the city’s sanctuary laws, which protect migrants by barring local law enforcement from working with federal immigration authorities,” it could “take a lifetime to clear the city of the criminals that we have,” said Kenneth Genalo, the head of ICE’s New York City office.
Even some New York Democrats said they were appalled by the revelation from ICE.
“These numbers make it clear what everyone but our elected officials already know: sanctuary city laws are endangering New Yorkers by shielding criminals instead of protecting law-abiding citizens,” City Councilman Robert Holden, a Queens Democrat, told the New York Post.
City Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli argued the Democratic Party is entirely to blame.
“The Democratic Party, top to bottom, is responsible for every single one of these criminals and should be financially responsible to compensate crime victims,” he said.
When shown the ICE data, a spokesperson for New York City Mayor Eric Adams claimed the mayor has “repeatedly” pushed for having a “serious conversation about the small number of individuals who repeatedly commit violent crimes in our city.”
The spokesperson added that Adams will “continue to respect our city’s sanctuary laws.”
President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming border czar, Tom Homan, has warned Democratic-run sanctuary cities that they must comply with federal immigration authorities starting next year or risk losing federal funding.
“It is a felony to knowingly harbor or conceal an illegal immigrant from immigration authorities. Don’t test us,” Homan said last week.
