Staggering 75 percent of all NY arrests in Midtown are migrants, police sources estimate

Jefferson Maldenado, a 31-year-old immigrant from Ecuador, has been arrested five times in New York City since his arrival in the US earlier this year. His most recent arrest was for stealing a pair of trousers and a beer from a Target store near Herald Square.
When asked why he committed the crime, he said: “I wanted to change my clothes and think. I wanted to sit down and think about my life, about what to do. Because this is not a normal world.”
Maldenado was one of five immigrants arraigned in a Manhattan courtroom last week. Across New York, newly arrived immigrants are reportedly overwhelming the criminal justice system at rates much higher than public officials have admitted.
Police sources told The New York Post that as many as 75 percent of people arrested in Midtown Manhattan in recent months for crimes such as assault, robbery, and domestic violence are immigrants. In parts of Queens, the figure is estimated to be over 60 percent.
On any given day, New York’s criminal court dockets are filled with asylum seekers who have broken the law.

The situation is exacerbated by sanctuary city laws that prevent New York police from collaborating with ICE on cases where they suspect individuals are in the country illegally.
The NYPD also claims it is prohibited from tracking the immigration status of offenders. This makes it nearly impossible for authorities to manage the issue, according to experts and sources on the ground.
Jim Quinn, a former veteran prosecutor with the Queens District Attorney’s Office, told the outlet: “New York City eliminated a tool to get rid of violent criminals. What a mess. The sanctuary city law is pathetic. It’s disgusting. It’s crazy.”
In light of lax bail policies, police insiders claimed that news has spread through shelters that city’s lenient regulations mean migrants anticipate a swift return to the streets after arrest.
Reflecting on the city’s legislative constraints, a City Hall spokesman referred to Mayor Eric Adams’ previous call for reform: “Right now, we don’t have the authorization to be able to go and coordinate with ICE. We have to follow the law.”

Mayor Adams is also collaborating with the Midtown Improvement Coalition for enhanced policing in the area.
Although an NYPD spokesperson reported a dip in overall crime rates this year compared to the last, they underscored an important departmental restriction.
They said: “Police officers are prohibited from asking about the immigration status of crime victims, witnesses, or suspects and therefore the NYPD doesn’t track data pertaining to immigration statuses.”
A Midtown officer added: “I would say about 75 percent of the arrests in Midtown Manhattan are migrants, mostly for robberies, assaults, domestic incidents and selling counterfeit items.”
He estimated this figure because “you can’t be 100 percent sure [they’re migrants] unless you arrest them in a shelter or they’re dumb enough to give you a shelter address.”

Another officer from Manhattan observed that aside from petty larcenies at drug stores, “easily” 75 percent of local arrests involving migrants are for more serious offenses, with many targeting high-end stores.
“They can’t be bothered with lower-end stores. They like Lululemon and Sunglass Hut,” he noted, also mentioning that migrants are responsible for “most” of the pickpocketing and phone and chain snatches seen by the NYPD.
The issue is also prominent in Queens, where courts are feeling the impact. “There are days we have so many migrant cases we have to call in for extra Spanish interpreters,” said an officer at Queens Criminal Court House.
A court officer added: “Come on Mondays; almost every case is a migrant.”