New York City's Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, Ann Williams-Isom, recently acknowledged that the city does not ban illegal immigrants suspected of crimes from living in taxpayer-funded shelters.
Mayor Williams-Isom said during a City Hall press conference Tuesday that despite an apparent increase in criminal activity in and around city-run shelters, the arrests will not discourage people from using the shelters. New York Post Reported.
“The public has a right to know.”
“We don't say that. [you] “They can't go back to the shelter because they've been arrested,” Williams-Isom acknowledged. “We're certainly seeing a lot of arrests from various groups that come here, especially groups that may not be able to work.”
“We want to connect people to community-based organizations, connect them to jobs, and get them out of shelters,” Williams-Isom continued. “We're really proud that we've been able to get over 150,000 people out of shelters so far.”
Camille Joseph Verlach, chief of staff to New York City Mayor Eric Adams, noted that violations of the code of conduct could result in removal from taxpayer-funded shelters, but the Post reported that such violations only cover incidents that occur inside the shelters, and that misconduct outside the shelters does not appear to affect eligibility.
Police sources recently told The Post that in some parts of New York City, such as Midtown Manhattan, roughly 75 percent of people arrested are illegal immigrants, as previously reported by The Blaze News. Suspects are being held on a variety of charges, including assault, robbery and domestic violence.
It's difficult for law enforcement to determine exact numbers because the city's sanctuary policy doesn't allow the NYPD to track the immigration status of offenders.
An NYPD spokesperson told the Post that the NYPD does not track data on immigration status because “officers are prohibited from asking about the immigration status of crime victims, witnesses or suspects.”
Staten Island Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis is seeking to uncover the full extent of crimes committed by illegal immigrants and has accused the Adams administration of “obstructing” her requests for information. post Reported.
Malliotakis requested statistics on the number of crimes that occurred in or around taxpayer-funded shelters for illegal immigrants in 2023.
Specifically, her request asked for “statistics on how many crimes have occurred inside or within a five-block radius of city-run migrant shelters.”
“How many of those arrested listed a city-run shelter as their home address, and what were their primary charges during that same period,” the report said. “Have you instructed the NYPD to track detailed records of incidents and crimes involving immigrants?”
Malliotakis said the NYPD told her the request couldn't be completed until Nov. 15, 10 days after the election.
“The public has a right to know,” she said. “Either they're obstructing the flow or there are far more crimes committed by immigrants than we can tally up annually. It's ridiculous.”
An NYPD spokesperson told The Post that the department is currently responding to the request.
On Tuesday morning, officers Reports of new violence The controversial Randalls Island shelter has become a hotbed of criminal activity, most recently when 26-year-old Oswaldo Madrid Verduo was accused of shoving two guards and punching one.
Police said during the arrest he got into a scuffle with responding officers, one of whom suffered a nosebleed.
Madrid-Verduo was arrested last month after he allegedly punched a security guard at the shelter, a law enforcement source told The Post.
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