South-Carolina
Migrant crime is politically charged, but the reality is more complicated
It’s no surprise immigration is a hot political issue this year, as the number of foreign-born people in the United States reaches record levels and waves of migrants throng the southern border applying for asylum. What’s less clear is why candidates are campaigning on the issue of migrant crime.
Donald Trump and the Republicans have highlighted cases such as the killing of nursing student Laken Riley in February, allegedly by a migrant from Venezuela.
“That could have been my daughter. It could have been yours,” Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama said in the Republican response to President Biden’s State of the Union address.
But national statistics show no sign of a migrant-driven crime wave. Violent crime is trending down, after the spikes of 2020-2021, even as migration has surged. Past studies have found immigrants to be less likely to commit crimes. While it’s possible the newer arrivals are contributing to crime rates, it’s nearly impossible to tell how much, as the FBI’s statistics aren’t parsed by immigration status.
Still, at the local neighborhood level, some see a problem.
“Unfortunately, crime is up,” Carlos Chaparro says in Spanish. He runs a vocational school on Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, New York. It’s a traditionally Latin American neighborhood that has become a magnet for many of the approximately 190,000 migrants who’ve come through New York in the last two years.
“My clients say that when they leave [the school] at night, they’re being attacked and mugged, increasingly in the last year,” he says.
NPR talked to more than 20 people along this commercial strip, and they all said their impression was that crime has gone up in the last year. It’s a trend that is reflected in the statistics. According to the New York City Police Department’s CompStat system, crime in this precinct is up more than 15% in the first four months of this year compared to the same period last year, while it’s down in the city as a whole. Robbery is up more than 40% in the first four months of this year compared with the same period last year.
“It happens a lot,” says Johnny Velasquez, as he comes from his night shift as a security guard in Manhattan. Like Chaparro, he says there has been a lot more theft in the neighborhood lately — especially the grab-and-run kind.
“It’s an everyday thing. People on the scooters, like driving by while you’re on the phone, they’ll take it. Every day, you walk here, you don’t know what’s gonna happen,” he says.
Velasquez, Chaparro and others on the street blame the influx of newcomers.
“A lot of them [are] standing in front of the store selling lollipops to make a living,” Velasquez says, but “there’s other ones that come here for the wrong reasons.”
Velasquez just witnessed an attempted street theft — a man tried to grab a backpack, but his victim fought back and the suspect was struggling with police just 10 feet away. But in this case, the apparent thief is American, and the victim is a migrant — a young man from Ecuador who’d been trying to fix the wheel on his scooter when he was attacked.
Jack Donohue, who worked for the NYPD for 32 years and is now a senior fellow at the Center on Policing at Rutgers University, calls the rise in crime in that neighborhood “substantial,” but he says you can’t automatically blame the migrants.
“It’s a question of what’s happening and dissecting it. Not just the occurrence, but who gets arrested for it, would shed a little light on what dynamics are in play there,” Donohue says.
The available statistics don’t shed much light, though. Neither the NYPD nor the mayor’s office would talk to NPR for this story.
Meanwhile, the question of migrant crime in New York City has become politically charged, as local news reports focus on migrants accused of attacking police and participating in organized theft rings.
Most alarming to some are the dire news stories about a violent new gang.
Tren de Aragua is a Venezuelan prison gang that has spread to other South American countries, and there have been reports of migrants in the U.S. sporting the gang’s tattoos.
But Steven Dudley, an expert on Latin American gangs and co-director of the research group InSight Crime, says there’s a difference between the arrival of migrants with ties to a gang and the arrival of the gang itself.
“You may see individuals connected to Tren de Aragua that may commit crimes on their own. But that doesn’t mean that Tren de Aragua as a criminal organization is operational,” Dudley says. “For us to consider Tren de Aragua operational in the United States, they would need to be active in a collective manner, committing crimes in a collective manner over a period of time.”
He adds that migrants with “ties” to the gang may be coming to the U.S. to get away from the gang.
Carolina Reyna says she’s worried about regular street crime. She lives in New York’s largest migrant shelter, the Roosevelt Hotel near Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. She says the constant police presence there makes her feel safe, but she says she’s no longer willing to go to the Latin American neighborhood in Queens — not since she was mugged there coming home from her job at a bar.
“The boy stabbed me on the left side, in the breast,” she says. She says the kid had an Ecuadorian accent. “It’s way too dangerous around there,” she says. “There are people who are doing things that don’t fit with why we came to this country.”
Police took her to the hospital and told her there is security video of the attack. But since February, the case has gone cold.
While the NYPD wouldn’t speak to NPR on the record, police say privately that the real problem is not that migrants commit more crimes. It’s that those who do are difficult to find and prosecute.
“Making cases against the migrants, it’s just very frustrating,” says Christopher Flanagan, a retired NYPD detective who was commander for major cases. He says that migrants typically don’t have the local roots and associations that investigators rely on and that there’s often no criminal record available from the country of origin.
“They’re going in with no information, very few avenues to identify people,” he says. And if they do make an arrest, “they have very little confidence that the person’s going to be present in court.”
Venezuelans working along Roosevelt Avenue in Queens say those who commit crimes and get away are making it harder for the rest of the migrants.
“You have to enforce the law against them,” Jose Villalobos says. He has been in the U.S. for five years and has worked jobs ranging from parking cars to selling snacks — which he does now under a tent draped with a Venezuelan flag. In his home country, he used to have a job with the central bank calculating the inflation rate until he was forced out for political reasons. Now that he’s making his way in the U.S., he thinks his countrymen are getting a bad rap from other Latin Americans in the neighborhood.
“They say, ‘Here come the criminals,’ but no, we’re not all like that. We’ve come to work and do good. As with any country, we have good people and bad,” he says.
Copyright 2024 NPR
South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley spoke to local media following a 95-55 victory over Penn State.
Here is everything she said.
NEW! Message board for South Carolina Women’s Basketball! 🏀
Dawn, you knew Madina Okot was gonna be out. What was the plan to try to limit Gracie Merkle in the paint?
“I mean, we wanted to just make sure that she didn’t get any direct passes in her direction. And in order for you to do that, you always have to have your feet higher than hers, you always have to be in front when you are one pass away. Feet above, two passes away. And then when the ball goes in the air, we don’t just go for the ball, we actually just maintain contact with her and crowding her space. So I think Maryam [Dauda] and Ahdel [Tac] didn’t perfect that until today.”
Joyce Edwards had three different career highs today. I know you expect this kind of play from her, but just how crucial was it to play the way she did without Madina?
“You know, Joyce is gonna play that way with Madina, without Madina, with anybody. If it’s a game with a ball that’s being played, she’s gonna play to the best of her ability. I mean, she’s just playing really loose and just finding a way to impact the game through an entire stat line. Do we want the rebounding to be a little bit better? Yes, we do. But the other stuff, the five assists and no turnovers, you know, the six steals, four blocks, like, you know, that is who she is. And I do think we are working with her to just kind of be more than a scorer, because she is one thing that can pretty much fill a stat sheet. It wasn’t at times where she did that. Now she’s aware of it now. And she’s executed.”
Obviously, you don’t want to force any offense from anyone, but just your overall thoughts on the offensive bench production so far, nearing SEC play?
“Just improving. We want to just improve. What that looks like for us is taking good shots, okay? I mean, and that’s basically it. It’s not, you know, if we’re gonna get comfortable, I don’t think all of them are comfortable, and that’s okay to me. They don’t have to be comfortable. When you’re comfortable, you probably lend yourself to doing stuff that you’re not supposed to do. So there’s a little bit of fear of not doing the right thing, which keeps us a little more disciplined. But, you know, I like what we’re bringing to the table. I don’t think, you know, I think Maddy [McDaniel is] starting to get back into the swing of things. Ayla [McDowell] is holding her. I think we can get a little bit more out of Ahdel and Maryam, so we just continue to work with that. And I think it’s good that Madina didn’t play, you know, and they can build some confidence. Definitely defensively, offensively will get the go a little bit.”
Coach, huge discrepancy in the turnover margin, 26 to 5. What did you see and what did you like from your team in terms of taking care of the ball?
“I like the fact that we took care of the ball and we had great ball movement at times, like really good ball movement. We thought they were going to press us a little bit more, and they didn’t. So we just executed. We moved the ball; we had 20 assists on 37 field goals. I mean, we’re moving in the right direction. So I like the fact that we have single-digit turnovers.”
I know it’s been a tough season just with injuries and illnesses and things, but what are the positives for the healthy players, having to adjust, you know, maybe being a bit uncomfortable? What are the positives for them in those situations?
I mean, I think the positive is mentally they’re going to the games, that they’re gonna play a whole lot of minutes, and they haven’t conserved. Like, they haven’t conserved defensively. They surely aren’t going to conserve offensively. But I just like their mentality, which is the next woman of, like, whether we have eight to practice with, we’re just going to keep moving forward. If we can add another player to the mix in a day or two, the next game, be great. But I want us to always feel like we got a chance, we got enough in the room to win, no matter what the stakes are.”
What’s the prognosis for Madina and Agot [Makeer] to make the Florida trip?
“I mean this day to day. I mean, we’re not going to force them to make things worse. I think we’re very conscious. I think we’re super conservative. And I don’t have a say in it. I get a report every day, and the report is that we’re going to continue, but they’re not there yet. They do some things in practice, and they’re not there yet. So we’ll just, you know, adhere to what they’re telling us, and if we get them back, it’s going to help us. If we don’t, we just got to keep moving forward.”
The first nine points of the third quarter were all fast-break points. Was that a focus going into the second half to get out and transition before they could set their zone?
“Well, I would say it was probably a product of our defense and rebounding, like, I mean, we didn’t. We gave up 22 offensive rebounds. So, you know, a lot of times they were just getting their own rebound and making us playable a little bit longer. So I think we’ve got rebounds and we pushed, and we saw people up the floor.”
I guess it was the second game, Ta’Niya Latson got herself going in the second half. How do you kind of channel that to get it throughout the game?
“I don’t know, I mean, she’s getting looks. So, I mean, it is, you know, I think Ta’Niya does best when she gets off to a good start. I thought she got off to a good start because she got a lot of assists as well. Like, and you know, when I look at the stat sheet, and she’s got four assists, no field goals of like. You know, got to give her some touches. So we may try to manufacture some touches to where she’s in a comfort zone. Sometimes she makes it, sometimes she does it, but I don’t want her to get rattled because for someone that can score a lot of points in bunches, you know, as long as a lot of time is left in the game, there’s a lot of opportunity for her to just, you know, create some opportunities for the sport.”
When you got back from Vegas, you mentioned that free throws were kind of a takeaway that you had. I’m just curious, like, is that as simple as practice and kind of routine? What do you see there?
“I will say we practice every day. Every single day, there is not a day that goes by. It’s becoming a little mental now and we can’t just say, ‘Oh, it’s going to fix this stuff. We got to still do something. You can practice a little bit more over here to help us in this gym. But probably a little mental. I hope it turns to where it’s not even, it’s just routine at this point.”
South Carolina State Lady Bulldogs (3-9) at Ole Miss Rebels (9-1)
Oxford, Mississippi; Sunday, 3 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: No. 17 Ole Miss hosts South Carolina State after Cotie McMahon scored 24 points in Ole Miss’ 86-52 win against the Wofford Terriers.
The Rebels are 5-0 in home games. Ole Miss scores 80.1 points and has outscored opponents by 25.4 points per game.
The Lady Bulldogs are 0-5 on the road. South Carolina State is third in the MEAC allowing 64.8 points while holding opponents to 42.7% shooting.
Ole Miss scores 80.1 points, 15.3 more per game than the 64.8 South Carolina State allows. South Carolina State averages 8.8 more points per game (63.5) than Ole Miss allows (54.7).
TOP PERFORMERS: McMahon is scoring 19.2 points per game and averaging 6.0 rebounds for the Rebels. Debreasha Powe is averaging 1.6 made 3-pointers.
Lemyiah Harris is shooting 25.4% from beyond the arc with 1.8 made 3-pointers per game for the Lady Bulldogs, while averaging 11.4 points. Shaunice Reed is averaging 11.6 points and 1.6 steals over the past 10 games.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
South-Carolina
Nancy Mace’s foul-mouthed airport tirades roil race for South Carolina governorship as rival slams ‘spoiled brat’
New disclosures of a foul-mouthed tirade by Rep. Nancy Mace in the Charleston airport have roiled the South Carolina governor’s race and ignited angry accusations between the lawmaker and one of her competitors in the Republican primary.
Her rival, state AG Alan Wilson, called Mace a “spoiled brat” who treats cops like “servants,” at a time when the two of them are furiously competing for support from voters – and President Trump.
Mace back in August called herself “Trump in high heels” and acknowledged “I would really like his support for governor.” So far, Trump hasn’t given it – to anybody.
Mace this week slammed an internal Charleston Airport Authority investigation that probed her profanity-laced “spectacle” Oct. 30, when Mace chewed out police officers and TSA agents over expedited security for her outbound flight, after a planned VIP escort fell through.
New details are still coming to light – including an earlier incident in April where Mace allegedly blew up at agents who wouldn’t let her bring a family member through expedited security, according to the investigation report.
“This is the only airport that gives me s–t,” she complained, according to one of the numerous law enforcement officers interviewed as part of the probe.
The investigative report was obtained by The Post through a public documents request.
One interviewed TSA agent quotes Mace as telling a cop following the botched Oct. 30 escort for her arrival at an airport gate, “I’m sick of your s–t, I’m tired of having to wait.”
Another officer, an explosives tech, described Mace as being “very nasty, very rude.” She said she could hear Mace calling police officers “f–king idiots” and “f–king incompetent” and stating that she was a “f–king representative.”
Yet the airport was “not busy at all” at the time of the incident, the officer said.
A TSA agent said during the interaction Mace “literally was on that phone talking and texting her life away” as well as “saying rude things,” according to the investigative report.
One TSA officer who had been at the airport 23 years told investigators “every VIP or whomever, dignitary, that we’ve been across and had to deal with, we never, never had this problem.”
Mace hired an attorney and threatened weeks ago to sue the airport over the October incident, but has yet to do so.
The report revealed the April confrontation when agents wouldn’t let Mace bring a family member through expedited security. TSA later let her take family members with her when she got screened.
“I thought that the way she acted showed a sense of entitlement – [that] she is entitled to special protection, she is entitled to special treatment. When she doesn’t get special treatment, she throws a tantrum. To me that harkens back to a child not getting their way,” Wilson told The Post in an interview.
“These are public servants, not personal servants,” he said of law enforcement at the airport.
Mace told CNN in an interview this week the report had been “falsified,” without providing evidence. In response to Wilson’s “brat” comment, she wrote: “Imagine being ‘Attorney General’ and flying 500 miles for the sole purpose of dismissing death threats against a single mom.”
She told The Post she has received numerous credible death threats, and said on Friday a judge denied bond to a man accused of making online threats against her. She said during the April incident TSA had violated its own policy allowing federal officials to bring a guest and separated her from her child.
Mace has been taking her case to the airwaves in a week where she trashed the House Republican leadership in a Washington Post op-ed.
A consultant to Mace’s campaign, Austin McCubbin, resigned Dec. 1, accusing her of turning her back on MAGA and trying to “hug the political cactus that is the [Sen.] Rand Paul [and Rep.] Thomas Massie wing of the Party.”
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