Four illegal aliens who were bused from Texas to New York City have been arrested for stealing $12,489 worth of merchandise from a Macy’s department store, according to police.
In a statement on Jan. 23, the Nassau County Police Department in Long Island, New York, announced that Wrallan Cabezas Meza, 19, Jose Garcia Escobar, 30, Miguel Angel Rojas, 21, and Rafael Rojas, 27, were all arrested for the alleged shoplifting.
According to the police statement, officers responded to the Macy’s store in East Garden City, New York, on the evening on Jan. 9 after receiving a call regarding a larceny committed by four men who fled the location in a four-door BMW.
Units began canvassing the immediate area and “located the subjects driving eastbound on Ring Road while committing multiple traffic infractions,” police said.
After stopping the vehicle and conducting a search of the car, law enforcement officials recovered $12,489 worth of unpaid merchandise from the department store.
The merchandise was later returned to Macy’s, police said, but no further details were provided about the exact items stolen.
All four of the defendants were charged with grand larceny in the 3rd degree, according to police, while Meza received multiple traffic citations.
The four suspects appeared in court on Jan. 10, and Rafael Rojas and Escobar were released without bail, police said.
According to the New York Post, the suspects told a Spanish-speaking Nassau County detective that they came to New York City on a bus from Texas, although it’s unclear exactly when they arrived.
Meza crossed the U.S.–Mexico border on July 4, 2022, according to the publication, while the others crossed the border in September.
Gov. Greg Abbott, under “Operation Lone Star,” has been leading efforts to send illegal aliens to Democrat-run sanctuary states to relieve Texas communities overwhelmed with the influx of illegal migrants at the border.
‘No Room for Migrants,’ Says Mayor
On Jan. 15, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said there was “no room” in New York City for the migrants being sent there, while taking a swipe at the Biden administration for failing to take action to stem the illegal immigration crisis at the southern border.
According to Adams, more than 41,000 illegal aliens claiming asylum have arrived in New York City since spring 2022, prompting the city to establish a number of humanitarian relief centers and hotels to accommodate them.
The city is set to open a fifth humanitarian emergency response and relief center at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal to temporarily accommodate more.
“Our cities are being undermined,” Adams said. “And we don’t deserve this. Migrants don’t deserve this and the people who live in the cities don’t deserve this. We expect more from our national leaders to address this issue in a real way.”
Adams recently urged the Biden administration to appoint a “national czar” to manage the immigration crisis, despite Vice President Kamala Harris already holding that role.
Speaking at the U.S. Conference of Mayors on Jan. 18, Adams also called on the administration to establish a system that would “fairly distribute” illegal aliens regionally and a “decompression strategy at the border” that establishes a plan for each illegal alien’s arrival into the United States.
