Illegal Teens Robbing New Yorkers En Masse: Police Can't Do Anything Because of Criminals' Young Age

Underage illegal immigrants from the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua have been attacking people in New York City's famous Times Square and other iconic locations. They remain free because of lenient state laws, reports Fox.

Tren de Aragua (TDA), a gang of Venezuelan thugs, now terrorize Gotham. Armed men ride mopeds, sell illegal weapons under the noses of private shelter guards, and run prostitution rings.

The gang also traffics in a lethal fentanyl mixture called "Tussie," or "Pink Cocaine."

"It's shocking, to say the least. We're seeing this group grow," NYPD Assistant Chief of Detectives Jason Savino said Oct. 15.

The situation is getting worse due to soft laws

The suspects, some as young as 11, are being housed in the former Roosevelt Hotel, which the city has converted into a migrant shelter.

Investigators say suspected gang members have been posting photos and videos of their weapons online.

On the subject: 75% of crimes in Manhattan and 60% in Queens are committed by immigrants: police have their hands tied

"We know they have access to weapons. They have committed robberies with firearms. They had the audacity to show off guns on their social media," Savino assured.

Itinerant migrants using drugs and alcohol are constantly found near the Roosevelt and Row NYC hotels.

"This is the first formed Group, that we found. There are about 20 people hanging out in the area every day. The gang members post on social media, bragging about their crew," Savino said. "You see little pockets of the group in and around Times Square and in and around shelters."

Savino said 20 members of a subgroup of the gang, which calls itself Los Diablos de lat 42 after New York's 42nd Street, have been arrested in connection with 50 separate crimes.

"When they first arrived, they were pickpocketing, then they moved on to more serious thefts. Now they've started using scooters," Savino explained. "Why? Because their initial criminal activity had no consequences."

He blamed New York's lenient attitude toward juvenile and even adult suspects.

"The people who are actually involved in this crime are becoming more powerful," he said.

The worst attacks, he said, are called "wolf pack robberies." Five or more suspects surround tourists and extort items from them. Some use guns, others use knives.

Savino and his team, despite the uphill battle to keep juvenile suspects in custody, continue to make arrests and gather evidence.

Rising Crime and Gang Expansion

Over the past year, nearly 200 migrants seeking asylum have arrived in New York City. More than half of them will likely be rejected. Until that happens, they are technically in the U.S. legally.

As migrants continue to cross the southern border, the Tren de Aragua gang has expanded its operations to numerous U.S. cities, including New York City and Chicago. The gang has also been linked to crimes in smaller cities, including Aurora, Colorado, and Athens, Georgia, where the suspect in the murder of nursing student Laken Riley has been linked to alleged gang members.

The gang is blamed for a sharp increase in cellphone and bag thefts in New York City earlier this year.

Now it's getting more brazen. The gang members commit robberies with firearms, brag about them on social media, and avoid jail time.

Juvenile suspects are not held in custody.

The criminal organization is known to recruit members from migrant shelters, and the gang was recently accused of recruiting children from Texas high schools.