Immigration officials have been busy removing criminal illegal migrants from New York City streets this week, with many residents hailing the efforts as making the city 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 arrested in the raids. The gang member, Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco, 26, was picked up by Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations officers in the Bronx. He 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.
The raids, which took place in the Bronx, Queens, and other parts of the city, 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.
One New York City resident said, “I’m glad they’re gone. 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.”
An 80-year-old Bronx woman, Evelyn Brown, who is originally from Jamaica, expressed relief, saying, “Get them the hell off the street! Get them the hell out of the street so people don’t have to walk in fear. Take the damn bad ones away!”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who was present for the raids, said federal immigration authorities were targeting violent criminals and the operations were “very specific.” She called for the Big Apple’s sanctuary city laws to be lifted, saying, “We are picking up the worst of the worst in this country that are making our streets so dangerous. 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,” he said.
Ramses Frías, a local Queens activist, 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. They welcome law and order and want safe streets,” he said.
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.”
