The New York City Police Department’s chief of patrol is demanding the city roll back its sanctuary policies in the wake of another alleged migrant crime.
A homeless migrant in Brooklyn was arrested for allegedly raping a woman on Sunday at knifepoint while his migrant accomplice allegedly beat a man when he attempted to intervene, according to CBS News. At least one of the migrants allegedly involved had been previously arrested for a prior sexual assault and was released back into the public, prompting outcry from New York City leadership about the sanctuary laws allowing criminal illegal migrants to avoid deportation.
“When that case was adjudicated, his next step should’ve been on a bus or a plane and removed from our city,” NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell stated on Tuesday, referring to the conclusion of the migrant’s prior criminal proceedings, according to CBS News.
“Most of them are here for the American dream, but there’s a small portion that are not,” Chell said to CBS News. “We’re just looking for local government to maybe make that adjustment to those laws to really – at the end of the day, this all falls under the banner of keeping people safe.”
The case involves David Davon-Bonilla, a Nicaraguan migrant who crossed into the U.S. at Eagle Pass, Texas, in December 2022 and eventually made his way to New York City, according to ABC7. Davon-Bonilla sexually assaulted a woman in April, and after pleading guilty, he was released from Rikers Island prison on June 24.
Davon-Bonilla was arraigned Monday night and is being held without bail for allegedly raping the woman, according to ABC7.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) did not immediately confirm Davon-Bonilla’s immigration status when reached for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Sanctuary laws largely prohibit local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities, which typically means they cannot inform deportation officers when a criminal migrant is in their custody or when that migrant is being released back into the public. Former Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law sanctuary legislation in 2014 limiting the New York Police Department’s ability to work with ICE, and he doubled down on this policy two years later.
In the wake of numerous high-profile crimes allegedly committed by illegal migrants, more New York City politicians – including Democrats – are calling for these policies to be rolled back.
“Laws do not allow us to coordinate with ICE. That’s the law,” Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, said in response to the latest rape case, according to CBS News.
“And, you know I’m not happy about that,” Adams continued. “And I think [Davon-Bonilla is] the poster child of what’s wrong with not doing that coordination.”
However, all efforts to actually wind back these sanctuary laws have so far fallen flat.
The Common Sense Caucus, a coalition of moderate Republican and Democratic members of the New York City Council, introduced legislation in June that would allow city police to more freely work with ICE agents, but in a city council dominated by liberal Democrats, the bill has not been able to move forward.
Members of the Common Sense Caucus had pinned their hopes on allowing New York City voters to directly vote on the issue, with the recently-established Charter Revision Commission given the authority to decide what issues city residents would be allowed to vote on in the November elections. However, these hopes were sunk once the commission released its report last month, announcing that there would be no referendum on the city’s sanctuary laws.
Over 208,000 migrants have sought refuge in New York City since the nationwide immigration crisis began, fomenting an “explosion” in the city’s shelter population and taxpayer expenditures, the commission’s own report acknowledges. City officials expect to hash out more than $12 billion managing the crisis through 2025.
The asylum crisis forced Adams to declare 5% budget cuts in September for government programs and services in order to pay for migrant housing and other services, and last year he bemoaned that the city was reaching a “breaking point” from the sheer volume of migrants.
NYC’s sanctuary laws have become more controversial following a strong of illegal migrant crimes, such as when a group allegedly went on a shopping spree and beat down an NYPD officer, another illegal migrant allegedly fired at two NYPD cops during a foot pursuit or the alleged rape of a 13-year-old girl at knifepoint by another illegal migrant.
One Democrat member of the Common Sense Caucus on Wednesday ripped city officials for failing to take action.
“Instead of being turned over to ICE after being arrested, convicted, and sentenced, this sicko was released back onto the streets, only to commit the same vile sexual assault again,” Council Member Robert Holden said in a press release. “This is a direct result of City Hall’s refusal to act and work with ICE to keep our communities safe, leaving us vulnerable to those who should have been deported.”
“We already have enough criminals in this city — why should we continue importing more?” Holden continued. “The madness in this city must end.”
(Featured Image Media Credit: Screen Capture/Smithsonian Channel)
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