Four migrants bused to NYC arrested for shoplifting $12K from Macy’s

[The Bobster]

Four migrants bused to NYC arrested for shoplifting $12K from Macy’s

Four migrants bused into New York City were busted for snatching thousands of dollars in merch from a Nassau County mall, officials said Monday.

nypost.com

Four migrants bused to NYC arrested for shoplifting $12K from Macy’s​

By
Bernadette Hogan and

Craig McCarthy


January 23, 2023 4:00pm
Updated






Four migrants bused into New York City from Texas were busted for snatching thousands of dollars in merchandise from a Nassau County mall, officials said Monday.
Wrallan Cabezas Meza, 19, Miguel Angel Rojas, 21, Rafael Rojas, 27, and Jose Garcia Escobar, 30, are accused of driving from the Big Apple to Garden City and stealing $12,489 in goods from Macy’s Roosevelt Field earlier this month, according to county police.
Cops caught the crew shortly after the Jan. 9 heist in Hampstead when Meza was pulled over for allegedly failing to use a turn signal in a 2006 BMW with bogus plates, a criminal complaint in the case states.
The suspects later told a Spanish-speaking Nassau County detective that they came to New York City on a bus from the Lone Star State, Detective Lt. Richard Lebrun said.
It was unclear when they were brought up north, but Meza crossed the US-Mexico border on July 4, 2022, and the others during September last year, according to Nassau County cops.

The four are accused of stealing more than $12,000 in goods. Nassau County Police Department
Miguel and Rafael Rojas have been living at the Westin Hotel on West 57th Street in Manhattan, according to police.
Police didn’t say exactly what was stolen from the department store.
The four suspects appeared in court Jan. 10 and were released without bail.
During a press conference Monday, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said he agrees with Mayor Eric Adams “that we have a crisis at the border and it has now migrated across the United States to the New York City metropolitan area.”
“But I want to make it clear: Here in Nassau County, our police department is going to be vigilant in making sure that anybody who commits a crime is tracked down, caught and arrested,” Blakeman said.
Thousands of migrants have been bused into New York City from the border after coming to the US for asylum.
The influx has forced the city to open five Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers and use hotel rooms to house the people. The city also even tried to tap cruise ships as temporary housing.
Adams has called on federal and state lawmakers to help foot the bill for efforts to house migrants in New York. More than 39,000 asylum seekers have arrived in the Big Apple since the spring.
The mayor has said the crisis is costing the city — which already had a strained shelter system — millions of dollars.

 

[The Bobster]

Migrants busted for shoplifting in NY won’t be deported — unless they’re convicted

Four migrants busted for shoplifting on Long Island won’t be deported after getting busted — unless they end up getting convicted, sources and experts said.

nypost.com

Migrants busted for shoplifting in NY won’t be deported — unless they’re convicted​

By
Priscilla DeGregory,

Craig McCarthy and

Jorge Fitz-Gibbon


January 24, 2023 6:49pm
Updated













Four migrants who were busted for allegedly shoplifting at a Long Island Macy’s after being bused to the Big Apple from Texas won’t face deportation — unless they’re convicted, sources and legal experts said Tuesday.
The men, who are charged with stealing more than $12,000 in merchandise from Macy’s Roosevelt Field earlier this month, are getting a break because they are asylum seekers, not illegal immigrants who crossed the US border.
“They are given the benefit of the doubt because they have a pending application with the [US Citizenship and Immigration Services],” Queens-based immigration lawyer Luis Nicho told The Post.
“[The Department of Homeland Security] would normally disqualify you for asylum and put you in the process of being deported,” Nicho said.
Law enforcement are likely waiting to see how the case will shake out, and if the shoplifters cop to a lesser crime, they may still be eligible for asylum, he said.
“They will wait until they have a final disposition of the case to find out whether it’s deportable,” Nicho said.

Four asylum seekers were charged with shoplifting from Macys Roosevelt Field, and could be deported — if they’re convicted.Nassau County Police Department Four asylum seekers were charged with stealing more than $12,000 in goods from Macys Roosevelt Field earlier this month.Google Maps
The accused thieves — Wrallan Cabezas Meza, 19, Miguel Angel Rojas, 21, Rafael Rojas, 27, and Jose Garcia Escobar, 30 — are accused of driving from Manhattan to the Nassau County mall on Jan. 9 and walking off with the goods.


They were caught when cops pulled over their 2006 BMW, which had bogus plates, according to criminal complaints filed in the case.


In court the following day, Rafael Rojas and Escobar were released without bail, while Miguel Rojas had bail set at $1,000 and Meza at $1,500, authorities said.


Nicho said the Empire State’s immigration “sanctuary” status also plays a role.


“The New York City attitude comes with the territory of them being overburdened and not wanting to cooperate with the feds,” he said. “But they will when it’s a serious enough crime.”





The attorney added, “Without an actual criminal conviction, you’re asking the local police to enforce civil immigration laws.”


“The sanctuary city status helps, with so many advocates in the city for them,” Nicho said.


Additional reporting by Joe Marino