During a press briefing on Tuesday, Mayor Eric Adams of New York City disclosed the presence of migrants involved in criminal activities, citing instances of individuals engaged in what he termed a “robbery pattern.”
“Do I believe that there are some migrants who are committing crimes in the city? Yes. Yes,” Adams confirmed when asked by a reporter. Though he emphasized it’s not only migrants, “There are people who are committing crimes in all walks of life. It’s not just migrants and asylum seekers. I think that we have a number of migrants who have committed crimes. We have a number of non-migrants who are committing crimes.”
“And, so, I do not want to walk away with anyone saying that the [grand larceny auto] increase we saw in the city was just migrants. No, it’s not. It was long-term New Yorkers who committed [grand larceny auto] also,” he added. “But are there some crimes that migrants have committed? Yes, there are.”
Adams provided an illustration, pointing out a “robbery pattern” identified in the city, which involved certain migrants.
“We identified that this was a robbery pattern and there were migrants who participated in that robbery pattern,” Adams said while acknowledging, “Every robbery pattern we have in the city is not done by migrants.”
He additionally asserted that the city needed to tackle the “environment” conducive to migrants engaging in criminal activities.
“But remember what I said last week. You place a person in an environment where they can’t work, can’t provide for themselves. They have to just sit around all day. That’s not a good scenario. That’s not a good scenario. And that is what we need to focus on. What environment are we creating in these cities?” Adams said.
NYPD data indicates a rise in robbery, felony assault, and grand larceny auto in October 2023 compared to the corresponding period the previous year. Since spring 2022, New York City has welcomed 161,000 migrants, with Mayor Adams anticipating another influx in the upcoming months.
