The Big Apple’s self-imposed “sanctuary city” status is handcuffing the NYPD from clamping down on a violent crew of young Tren de Aragua members that is terrorizing Manhattan, sources tell The Post.
Cops already grappling with the Empire State’s lenient criminal justice laws also have to contend with the immigrant-friendly designation that largely bars police from city-funded migrant shelters that have become a hotbed for gang activity, the sources said.
“It’s a problem,” one law enforcement source said. “We’re essentially allowing a criminal enterprise now involving minors to percolate in the shelter system without the police being able to do what would be normal due diligence when minors are involved in crime.”
The stalemate has become increasingly frustrating for the NYPD, particularly as a baby-faced pack of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua calling itself “Diablos de la 42” — Devils of 42nd Street — has been targeting locals and tourists in armed heists around Times Square, according to sources.
Once content to just snatch purses and jewelry, officials say that members of the marauding migrant youth gang — some as young as 11 — are now armed and dangerous.
Authorities maintain that the youngsters are recruited by migrant gang members in city shelters — particularly the Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown — and sent out to do the dirty work, The Post reported this week.
But cops can’t get into the the taxpayer-funded hotel haven without a warrant, unless there’s a 911 call or a medical emergency, making it difficult to go after the young gangbangers.
NYPD youth coordination officers are also unable to get into the shelters to keep tabs on migrant kids to make sure they’re getting services and staying out of trouble, sources said.
In addition, sanctuary cities also refuse to cooperate with federal authorities, with local cops barred from alerting US Immigration and Customs Enforcement when a migrant is accused of a crime, meaning the feds are unable to immediately take them into custody and start deportation proceedings.
“In a city that prides itself on sanctuary, we must confront the uncomfortable truth — when policies prioritize protection over accountability we risk fostering a culture where crime goes unchecked,” an ICE source said Monday.
“City shelters should be havens of hope and support, not sanctuaries for those who commit crimes,” the source said. “True sanctuary should mean safety for all, not a free pass for the few.”
Officials at City Hall did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
Tren de Aragua members entered the US among the millions of asylum seekers who have crossed the border since 2022, with many of them making their way to New York City.
Once in city care, they began recruiting new members, branching out into trafficking drugs, guns and women, who are forced into prostitution to pay off massive smuggling debts, sources have said.
The recruiters have also focused on bringing children into the gang’s ranks, first as part of Dickensian purse-snatching rascals but more recently as armed thieves with no regard for their victims, according to the sources.
But because of their ages, the pint-faced thugs generally get a slap on the wrist when they’re caught, and cops are unable to conduct ongoing surveillance once they’re back in the shelters.
“That’s why they are recruiting from middle school,” another federal immigration source said. “Easy to move merchandise and guns. Police aren’t gonna stop an 8-year-old kid. And it goes back to the DAs office in sanctuary cities.”
In recent years, New York has made it harder to prosecute minors for serious crimes.
In 2018, state lawmakers implemented the “Raise the Age” statute, which increased the age of criminal responsibility to 18. Prior to the law teens as young as 16 could be automatically charged as an adult.
The following year, the legislature in Albany began passing a series of criminal justice reforms that barred judges from setting bail for suspects in most crimes, save for a handful of violent felonies.
Despite some tweaks in recent years, many suspects remain out of jail while they await trial.
“This whole city is starting to feel like an insane asylum,” Bill, a 29-year-old New Yorker who works near the Roosevelt Hotel, said Monday. “I walk by this hotel 5 days a week and I can tell you there are no rules.
“It’s like a little fortress. One of a hundred gang fortresses in the city. Who thinks this makes sense?”
Barbara, a Brooklyn mom who works in the Midtown neighborhood, said she has been encouraging her sons to befriend migrant children in school, unaware some were being pulled into gangs.
“I was worried about the shots, measles, mumps, rubella and the rest that they probably didn’t get,” the 37-year-old mother said. “And now I have to worry about guns and knives?”
Meanwhile, a retired 72-year-old bartender and Hell’s Kitchen resident who only identified himself as Alexander D. said he was also concerned about other migrants stuck living next to the gang.
“Think about that,” he said. “Your kids are getting recruited by the same piece-a-s–t gangs you just crawled through a jungle and climbed onto a moving train to get away from. They get here and now their kids are getting recruited right out of the room next door. Poor bastards.”
And yet no fix seems to be in sight.
“Sanctuary cities nationwide will begin to see the consequences of policies that limit local law enforcement,” a third federal immigration source told The Post. “Citizens in this community will see crime rates rise and begin to question law enforcement.
“However, it is a problem being caused by policies of their own city officials, people they have voted into these positions. It is alarming that the administration hasn’t already declared them a terrorist group.”
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