The notorious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) is reportedly exploiting migrant children in New York City, recruiting them from shelters to commit increasingly violent crimes. Reported incidents involving minors tied to the gang have surged from 300 last year to a staggering 800 this year, highlighting an alarming trend.
A recent report by CBS News New York revealed that the NYPD’s chief of detectives has flagged cases where children, some of them preteens, are coerced into committing retail thefts. Often, these crimes involve the use of scooters for swift getaways. Authorities note that many of the recruited youths are illegal, making them especially vulnerable to exploitation and difficult to track.
Tren de Aragua gang members who are in our country illegally are recruiting children in NYC to join their gang.
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) November 25, 2024
They’ve taken over the streets are committing violent crime across the city.
But Democrats told me this wasn’t happening… pic.twitter.com/fpcmDBz9Za
Further details from the New York Post describe how these baby-faced crews target high-profile tourist destinations, including Times Square and luxury retail hubs. Many of the robberies are carried out at gunpoint, and some perpetrators boast about their crimes on social media:
Nearly two dozen young migrant thugs, some as young as 11 years old, are part of a dangerous asylum-seeking brat pack that has graduated from purse snatchings to gunpoint heists targeting New Yorkers and tourists alike, a top NYPD official told The Post.
But they’re managing to stay out of jail because of their ages and the Empire State’s lenient criminal justice laws, Detective Bureau Assistant Chief Jason Savino said.
“You have individuals that are brazen,” Savino said. “We know they have access to guns, evident by the fact that they’ve done gunpoint robberies and they’ve been brazen enough to showcase pistols in and around their social media.
“This is the first formulated group that we found where this group of about 20 individuals that, in pack format, hang out every day, they post on social media, they boast about their crew,” the chief said. “You see little pockets in and around Times Square and in and around the shelters.
The surge in violence has put law enforcement and community advocates on high alert, as officials scramble to address the gang’s growing influence and protect vulnerable migrant children from being drawn into criminal networks.
The alarming developments underscores the broader issue of lax criminal enforcement in sanctuary cities and highlights the urgent need for coordinated interventions.
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If the local police cannot get a handle on the situation, when Trump gets into office will mobilize whatever enforcement he can mustard. Do not be surprised if Trump sends in troops because the situation deserves an emergency response.