Immigration officials have been busy this week removing criminal illegal migrants off New York City streets, with many residents hailing the sweeps as making the Big Apple a safer place to live.
A member of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which has gained a foothold in New York City as well as other cities, was among those scooped up in the raids on Tuesday.
Gang member Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco, 26, was picked up by Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations officers in the Bronx. Zambrano-Pacheco is wanted by police in Aurora, Colorado, for first-degree burglary and menacing with a firearm from an Aug. 18, caught-on-camera incident where police say he and five other armed men are accused of breaking into an apartment at gunpoint.
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Zambrano-Pacheco was apprehended when immigration authorities stormed an Ogden Avenue apartment building in The Bronx in the early hours, the New York Post reports, citing sources. The building is across the street from a public school.
Other sweeps took place in other parts of the Bronx and in Queens and came after President Donald Trump’s support throughout the city swelled in 2024. In the Bronx, for instance, Trump’s vote increased by 11% compared to 2020.
“I’m glad they’re gone,” one New York City resident told Fox News. “I was planning on calling ICE to be honest with you, but they got here before I was able to call them. There was 15 of them in a one bedroom. They were constantly doing drugs in front [of the building].”
He alleged that they were squatting in the building and had “destroyed” an apartment.
One Bronx woman, 80-year-old Evelyn Brown, said she is relieved the raids are underway.”Get them the hell off the street! Get them the hell out of the street so people don’t have to walk in fear,” Brown, who is originally from Jamaica, told the New York Post.”Take the damn bad ones away!”
The Drug Enforcement Administration in New York and ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations posted images from the raids.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was also present for the raids and said federal immigration authorities were targeting violent criminals and the operations were “very specific.” She called for the Bif Apple’s sanctuary city laws – which mandate the city to provide shelter to migrants and prohibit law enforcement from coordinating with ICE – to be lifted.
“We are picking up the worst of the worst in this country that are making our streets so dangerous,” Noem told Sean Hannity on “Hannity.” “The community is safer now. That’s the reality of it.”
Tyreek Goodman, a member of the Bronx County Conservative Party, said the threat of the gang’s violent crimes had sowed fear within the community.
“You do have the feeling, the fear of what happens if they come here next,” Goodman, who is a city council candidate, told Fox News Digital. “There’s been a lot of crimes on the MTA, based off people that weren’t supposed to be here. So we have to understand that in order to keep our people safe, this is a time for us to stand by law enforcement.”
Ramses Frías, a local Queens activist who’s voiced concerns over a crime crisis gripping his neighborhood, which is partially represented by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said the raids have also been warmly received by the community.
“Many residents, from immigrants to citizens, welcome ICE coming in and taking the criminals out of these communities,” Frías, a city council candidate, told Fox News Digital. “They welcome law and order and want safe streets.”
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U.S. Rep Nicole Malliotakis, whose district includes portions of Staten Island and Brooklyn, said the Trump administration was wasting no time to initiate the removal of dangerous, violent foreign criminals and gangs from New York City streets.
She said the groups “have wreaked havoc in our city over the past four years and have committed thousands of crimes including robberies, sex crimes, assaulting NYPD officers, and even murder.”
Not everyone supported the crackdown. New York City Council Member Alhea Athens, a Democrat, said she would demand answers and action to ensure families are protected and human rights are respected.
“It is both disheartening and unacceptable that community members are being removed from their homes without due process or transparency,” Athens wrote on X.
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“The long-lasting effects of these raids on our community cannot be undone.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James, meanwhile, issued an apparent warning to state and local law enforcement cooperating with federal authorities. In a Tuesday X post, she said she would be monitoring the situation closely to ensure that state sanctuary policies are not violated.
“My office is aware of the increased presence of ICE across New York City,” she said. “I am monitoring the situation to ensure our laws are being respected and people’s rights are not being violated. We have sent guidance to law enforcement, and it must be followed.”
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Fox News’ Louis Casiano and Peter Pinedo contributed to this report.
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