The crisis on the southern border continues to wreak havoc throughout the country. Oakland County, Mich., Sheriff Michael Bouchard warned that organized criminal gangs made up of illegal immigrants are burglarizing "high-end homes," as reported by CBS Detroit and The New York Post:
Obviously, this is a pattern. We also believe these are folks coming from outside of Michigan, so it's an organized, targeted effort ... They're looking for high-end homes, specifically that are in the home that are jewelry and money.
The sheriff revealed that the criminals who were identified came from Central and South America. Those identified come from various different countries: Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Honduras.
These are transnational gangs that are involved in this that come from South America, looking to do burglaries and violate our communities, not just in Oakland County but across America.
The members of these criminal organizations likely acquired fake identification cards to be able to live legally in the cities where they want to carry out these burglaries.
Law enforcement actions
Bouchard revealed that all law enforcement agencies from the various local districts are involved in working to control the crime wave:
We have all of our local agencies. We're all working together because it's not generic to one community. It's across any area in this region that has very high-end homes. That's what we're focused on at the moment.
The sheriff did not offer arrest figures and declined to reveal which communities have been hit the hardest. Instead, he urged residents to invest in sophisticated security systems and to report any incidents or suspicious activity:
You can be a big help to us. You know who belongs in your neighborhood. You know which cars are typically in your neighborhood. If you see a car or someone walking through a backyard, you know better than us who belongs. Eyes and ears, see something, say something, really important.
Bouchard concluded by echoing the severity of the border crisis. He commented that criminal gangs had carried out similar criminal acts in New York.
