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Four immigrants who were brought to New York City on buses from the US-Mexico border were arrested earlier this month after allegedly stealing thousands of merchandise from stores.
Wrallan Cabezas Meza, 19, Miguel Ángel Rojas, 21, Rafael Rojas, 27, and José García Escobar, 30, are accused of traveling from Manhattan to Nassau County on Long Island to steal $12,489 in property from Macy’s Roosevelt Field shopping center .
Since Republican governors began sending immigrants to New York City last year, an estimated 40,000 asylum seekers have arrived in the Big Apple.
Just last week, Mayor Eric Adams made headlines for saying “there’s no more space” after previously stating the city would always welcome immigrants.
They are Wrallan Cabezas Meza (left) and Miguel and Angel Rojas, two of those arrested in the Macy’s robbery
Rafael Rojas (left) and José García Escobar (right) were also arrested and charged
Buses of migrants have been arriving in New York since the fall when Republican governors, primarily Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, began sending asylum seekers across the border to mostly Democratic-leaning cities.
According to Nassau County police, the group told a Spanish-speaking detective that they arrived in New York on a bus from Texas.
Officers first responded to the Macy’s incident just after 8:30 p.m. on January 9.
Law enforcement officers immediately began searching for a vehicle that fled the scene after the robbery.
During their search, officers located a vehicle traveling on Ring Road in Garden City.
The driver of the vehicle was said to have been committing multiple traffic offences, according to police.
Officers stopped the vehicle, a 2006 BMW with fake license plates, after Meza allegedly failed to use a turn signal.
Since Republican governors began sending immigrants to New York City last year, an estimated 40,000 asylum seekers have arrived in the Big Apple.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said last week that “there is no more room” for asylum seekers.
After they were taken into custody, they told one of the detectives how they got to New York, according to Detective Lt. Richard Lebrun.
It is unknown at this time when they made their way from the border to New York.
Meza entered the US-Mexico border on July 4, 2022, while the others arrived in September, Nassau County officials said.
Police said Miguel and Rafael Rojas have been living at the Westin Hotel on West 57th Street in Manhattan since they arrived.
This is the Macy’s in the Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City, New York
All four men were charged with third degree grand larceny.
It is unclear what items the group stole from the department store.
Meza, who was driving the vehicle, was charged with multiple traffic violations.
The group was arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead on January 10.
Escobar and Rafael Rojas were released while judicial information on Meza and Miguel was not available.
At a news conference Monday, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said he agrees with Mayor Eric Adams’ “change of tone” on the border crisis.
Blakeman was referring to Adams’ recent trip to the border and his subsequent interviews in which he called the situation a “disaster” while visiting El Paso.
‘Why isn’t this considered a disaster? This is a crisis,’ Adams said of the border crisis
“Here in Nassau County, our police department will be vigilant to make sure that anyone who commits a crime is tracked down, caught and arrested,” said Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman.
According to newsPolice said the four may have ties to a South American thief ring.
At a news conference Monday, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said he agrees with Mayor Eric Adams’ “change of tone” on the border crisis.
Blakeman was referring to Adams’ recent trip to the border and his subsequent interviews in which he called the situation ‘disaster’ during his visit to El Paso.
Eric Adams toured migrant shelters and visited the southern border en route to El Paso before calling the situation a ‘disaster’
Adams said FEMA should step in to help in the ‘disaster’
‘Why isn’t this considered a disaster? This is a crisis,’ Adams told The New York Post at the end of his visit.
“No one is coordinating this national effort,” he said from Texas.
‘FEMA needs to step up. That’s their job,’ he said, speaking of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Adams previously made a request for $1 billion to help deal with the crisis.