New York City is populated by over 58,000 illegal migrants who are convicted of or facing criminal charges.
"It’s shocking that Democrats have gone so far out of their way to harbor gang members, drug traffickers and other criminals who are in our country illegally," Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., told the New York Post.
The comments by Malliotakis, who represents parts of Staten Island and Brooklyn, come after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency data obtained by the New York Post showed 58,626 of the 759,218 illegal immigrants living in New York City had previously been convicted of a crime or had criminal charges pending, or 7.7% of the city’s illegal migrant population.
Of the 58,626 criminal migrants, 1,153 are "suspected or known gang members," the report added.
VENEZUELAN GANG MEMBERS LINKED TO VIOLENT APARTMENT TAKEOVER ARRESTED IN NEW YORK CITY
"In many cases, they’ve provided them with housing, food and healthcare. They need to stop using New Yorkers’ hard-earned tax dollars to shield criminals wreaking havoc on our streets and instead cooperate with ICE to have them deported," Malliotakis said.
The nationwide numbers largely mirror those in New York City, the data showed, with 662,586 – or 8.6% — of the 7.8 million illegal immigrants living in the United States currently having a criminal conviction or charges pending.
New York City will have a particularly hard time fighting back against the migrant crisis, according to Kenneth Genalo, who heads the ICE’s New York City office, who told the New York Post that, "it would take a lifetime to clear the city of the criminals that we have" if policies failed to change.
That frustration was shared by multiple members of the New York City council, who blamed the city’s sanctuary laws for the crisis.
"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," Councilman Robert Holden, a Queens Democrat, told the New York Post when he was shown the ICE data.
Meanwhile, Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli, a Republican from Staten Island, said he is "shocked and appalled, but not surprised" by the ICE data.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has made recent calls to loosen the city’s sanctuary policies, the report noted, citing the mayor’s calls to make it easier to turn over migrants "suspected" of "serious" crimes to federal authorities, though the mayor has also argued that he does not have enough support from the city council to change the rules.
Meanwhile, the mayor’s office pointed the finger at the Biden administration’s handling of the border crisis as the reason for the city’s struggles.
"Mayor Adams has repeatedly said that while we will continue to respect our city’s sanctuary laws, we must also have a serious conversation about the small number of individuals who repeatedly commit violent crimes in our city and the consequences they face," Kayla Mamelak, a spokesperson for Adams, told the New York Post. "We must also fix this nation’s unsuccessful border policies that have led us to this place."
