Brutal Attack on New York Police Highlights Dangers of Sanctuary and Open-Border Policies
FAIR Take | February 2024
Last Saturday, a vicious attack on two police officers by a group of migrants in New York City became the latest example of the consequences of unvetted migrants being allowed to settle in the U.S. It’s also an example of how sanctuary city policies are harming Americans. Not only did some of the illegal aliens evade arrest, but those detained were released, thanks to the city’s lax enforcement and sanctuary policies.
The assault on police officers last Saturday was so brazen that even many New Yorkers seem to have been unsettled by it. A group of at least twelve migrants were congregating and being disorderly in Times Square near one of the many hotels New York City has converted to house illegal aliens. According to police investigators, a group of illegal migrants, most residing in city shelters, were gathering in that area with for the purpose of committing crimes.
NYPD officers approached to break up the disorderly group, but a skirmish quickly broke out in full view of the startled tourists and other onlookers. Graphic video shows the group of illegal aliens kicking and punching the officers, sending them to the ground and injuring them. One of the illegal aliens even stole an officer’s phone, which has yet to be recovered.
The illegal aliens immediately fled, triggering a manhunt that has so far resulted in six arrests and a search for eight more suspects. Of ten men identified by the NYPD, seven have criminal histories ranging from robbery to petty theft.
Shockingly, the first five suspects were arrested were all released without bail. This is because New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg did not ask the judge to impose bail, even though each migrant’s offense was “bail-eligible.” One of them, Jhoan Boada, was caught smirking and giving the middle finger to waiting news cameras as he was set free. The other four have apparently boarded a bus to the border town of Calexico, CA after giving fake names to a nonprofit providing tickets. The only migrant to be held on bail so far was Yohenry Brito, whose initial attempt to resist arrest sparked the attack on the NYPD officers. The likelihood of the released aliens returning for their court date, assuming they even remain in the United States to face justice, seems unlikely.
The attack on the officers stunned New Yorkers and Americans nationwide. Even in the lawless days of the1970s and 1980s the idea that NYPD officers could be surrounded and beaten by criminals in the heart of a tourist attraction was unthinkable. A throwback to that time was the presence of the Guardian Angels, a citizen crime prevention group, on the streets after the attack. Its leader, Curtis Sliwa, spoke of his frustration that illegal alien criminals could act so brazenly thanks to city policy.
The public outrage has been so loud that it prompted unexpected reactions from New York State’s normally pro-open-borders establishment. Governor Kathy Hochul, who has supported laws that would criminalize threatening to report someone’s illegal status and been steadfast in her support for New York’s “sanctuary state” policies, quickly called for the government to deport the illegal migrants involved in the attack. New York City Mayor Eric Adams also called for deportation.
This brutal attack is just one of the latest in a wave of illegal alien crime in New York City, the epicenter of the nation’s urban migrant crisis. By providing shelter and welcome to illegal aliens, the city has attracted career criminals from other countries, and even created a lawless environment that places both American citizens and migrants themselves in danger, such as the murder of an asylum seeker at a New York City shelter by another migrant. Police have over 100 arrest warrants out for migrants for crimes like robbery and pickpocketing, hours before the Times Square assault, a group of Colombian illegal aliens had been arrested for running a pickpocketing gang targeting multiple bars.
From organized transnational criminal gangs to petty criminals, open borders make America indeed the land of opportunity. Open-borders and sanctuary policies have turned the U.S. into one big target for criminals like these migrant attackers, and immigration laws are just the first of many that they break.