THE BRONX, NY - Border Czar Tom Homan took his “deport the illegal aliens” roadshow to New York City Tuesday, surprising city residents with the early morning raids that nabbed a number of illegals, including an accused leader of the violent Tren de Aragua criminal gang, The New York Post reported.
“Oh, shit! For real?” one shocked neighbor said to The Post when informed of the violent gang history of the illegal alien. “Yo, if he was doing what he was doing here and they was all looking for him, he’s got some big balls! He didn’t give a f*ck.
“He wasn’t afraid of doing nothing because he was moving, doing his business right in the open,” the neighbor said, speaking of criminal activity. “Right in front of the building. I know he didn’t have no papers, so I figured that was it, like he didn’t have to worry. But damn!”
The bad guy was identified as Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco, 25, an alleged violent gang-banger with Tren de Aragua (TdA). Zambrano-Pacheco was one of approximately 30 wanted, accused illegal aliens picked up by federal agents in New York City on Tuesday.
Even more disturbing, Zambrano-Pacheco was living across from PS-11, a Bronx elementary school in the borough's Highbridge section. He was identified as a leader of TdA in Aurora, Colorado, and was named in an arrest warrant for kidnapping, burglary, and menacing in that state, The Post said.
The Tuesday morning raid conducted by assets from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security, which grabbed the illegal aliens, was the first major operation in New York City under President Trump’s promised blitzkrieg against illegal aliens and outlaw criminal gang members.
“They moved in in September or October of this past year,” building resident Emanuel Joseph, who lived across from Zambrano-Pacheo, a woman and a baby,” he said. “They were cooperative, very friendly. I was surprised when the men came this morning and asked me about them.”
“They take them away, and I couldn’t believe my ears what they were telling me,” said Joseph.
Speaking of the family, Joseph said, “They always had one little baby girl. They don’t speak English. I work a lot, and I only saw them on Saturday and Sunday. I would see them often on Saturday and Sunday in front of the building.”
He said he was “shocked at what [ICE] told me.”
Another resident on the third floor told The Post that she heard a woman and a baby crying in the apartment after the feds left.
“I don’t know him, but I’ve spoken to her once or twice,” the unidentified neighbor said. “She was very, very quiet
“Oh God,” she added. “They got him, though, right? Oh my God, I had no idea that’s who was living in my building. Thank God they got him.”
Yet another building resident told The Post Zambrano-Pacheco had “an angry expression” as he was led out of the building in shackles.
“I’ve lived here many years, and I have never seen him come in or out of the building. He had good, slicked-back hair. He had a real angry expression on his face,” the woman said. “Everyone in the building is just asking who else are they coming for? How are they picking the people?
“A lot of people don’t have their papers here, and there is a lot of fear,” she added. “We need to know how they are picking people.”
Homeland Security Director Kristi Noem joined federal agents in the raids, which started in the Bronx and targeted other areas throughout the five boroughs.
According to ICE officials, 1,179 arrests and 853 detainers for deportation were lodged on Monday, while 956 arrests and 554 detainers were made on Sunday.
Trump’s crackdown on illegal aliens is being viewed positively by New York City’s Hispanic and black residents, The Post reported.
“Oh, thank God they got him,” one city resident said after Zambrano-Pacheco was nabbed.
Evelyn Brown, 80, a Jamaican national who said she voted for President Trump, applauded the ICE raid.
“Get them the hell off the street! Get them the hell out of the street so people don’t have to walk in fear,’ Brown said. “Take the damn bad ones away!”
A Manhattan resident who requested anonymity said he’s happy to see action taken against criminals but hopes some deserving migrants will receive a path to safety.
“Too many people came over the border at once, and now it has to be a whole operation,” he said of the raids. “I don’t want dangerous people on the street, especially if we’re paying for it. People getting hurt on the street. Why should they get a pass?
“But some of them are families,” he said of some illegals.
“I don’t want to see them separated or hurt back home.”
Another city resident, this time in Queens, applauded ICE for going after criminals, especially the gang members.
“Honestly, it’s good to get Tren de Aragua off the streets because they’re dangerous,” said Jason Rodriguez, 41, a forklift driver and security camera installer. “Trump should deport the criminals.
“Their jails in their own countries are a lot worse than here. They don’t care about being locked up here, so they should be deported,” Rodriguez continued.
Meanwhile, in Staten Island, a Republican stronghold in deep blue New York City, Kevin Morales, 43, a construction worker who voted for Trump in 2024, distinguished between hardworking migrants and illegal aliens being rounded up in the raids.
“Listen, there’s too many people her that aren’t looking to make a better life for themselves. Instead, they are robbing, shooting, and raping. Those are not the kind of immigrants we want here,” he told The Post.
“I’m an immigrant and come from a family of immigrants, but we work. We came here to work and make a better life for our children.”
Comments
32 days ago | Comment by: James
If they knowingly came here illegally they a criminals! Families do not get a pass!