Four migrants who were taken on buses from the US-Mexico border to New York City were arrested earlier this month after they allegedly stole thousands of goods from the store.
Wrallan Cabezas Meza, 19, Miguel Angel Rojas, 21, Rafael Rojas, 27, and Jose Garcia Escobar, 30, are accused of traveling from Manhattan to Long Island’s Nassau County to retrieve $12,489 worth of goods from the Steal Macy’s Roosevelt Field Mall.
An estimated 40,000 asylum seekers have arrived in the Big Apple since Republican governors began sending migrants to New York City last year.
Just last week Mayor Eric Adams made headlines when he said “there’s no more room” after previously declaring the city would always welcome migrants.
These are Wrallan Cabezas Meza (left) and Miguel and Angel Rojas, two of the men arrested in the Macy’s robbery
Rafael Rojas (left) and Jose Garcia Escobar (right) were also arrested and charged
Buses carrying migrants have been arriving in NYC since the fall, when Republican governors, most notably Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, began sending asylum seekers from the border to largely Democratic cities.
According to Nassau County police, the group told a Spanish-speaking detective that they had come to New York on a bus from Texas.
Officers first responded to the Macy’s incident shortly after 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 9.
Police officers immediately began searching for a vehicle that fled the scene after it was stolen.
During their search, officers found a vehicle traveling on the Garden City ring road.
Police say the driver of the vehicle committed multiple traffic violations.
Officers stopped the vehicle, a 2006 BMW with fake license plates, after Meza allegedly failed to use a turn signal.
An estimated 40,000 asylum seekers have arrived in the Big Apple since Republican governors began sending migrants to New York City last year
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said last week “there is no more room” for asylum seekers
After being taken into custody, according to Detective Lt. Richard Lebrun one of the detectives how they got to New York.
It is not known at this time when they made their way from the border to NYC.
Meza reached the U.S.-Mexico border on July 4, 2022, while the others arrived in September, Nassau County officials said.
Police said Miguel and Rafael Rojas have been living at the Westin Hotel on West 57th Street in Manhattan since arriving.
This is Macy’s at Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City, New York
All four men were charged with third degree grand larceny.
It is unclear what items the group stole from the department store.
Meza, who was driving the vehicle, was charged with multiple traffic violations.
The group was arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead on January 10.
Escobar and Rafael Rojas were released while court information was unavailable for Meza and Miguel.
In a news conference Monday, Nassau County executive director Bruce Blakeman said he agreed with Mayor Eric Adams’ “change of tone” regarding the border crisis
Referring to Adam’s recent trip to the border and his subsequent interviews, Blakeman described the situation during his visit to El Paso as a “disaster.”
“Why isn’t this considered a disaster? This is a crisis,” Adams said of the border crisis
“Here in Nassau County, our Police Department will be vigilant to ensure that anyone who commits a crime is tracked down, caught and apprehended,” said Bruce Blakeman, Nassau County executive.
According to Newsday, police said the four may have links to a South American thief ring.
In a news conference Monday, Nassau County executive director Bruce Blakeman said he agreed with Mayor Eric Adams’ “change of tone” regarding the border crisis.
Referring to Adam’s recent trip to the border and his subsequent interviews, Blakeman described the situation during his visit to El Paso as a “disaster.”
Eric Adams toured migrant shelters and visited the southern border on the El Paso trip before describing the situation as a “disaster.”
Adams said FEMA should step in to help with the “disaster.”
“Why isn’t this considered a disaster? This is a crisis,” Adams told the New York Post at the end of his visit.
“No one is coordinating these national efforts,” he said from Texas.
“FEMA needs to step up. That’s their job,” he said, speaking of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Adams had previously requested $1 billion to help deal with the crisis.