As illegal immigrants flood the streets of our big cities, they seem to be brining crime with them. How can we solve this problem?

From The New York Post. Jefferson Maldenado, a 31-year-old migrant from Ecuador, has been arrested in New York City five times since arriving in the US earlier this year.

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Have you taken your place on the wall?

His latest bust was for stealing a pair of pants and a beer from the Target near Herald Square.

Asked why he committed the crime, the migrant thief said, “I wanted to change my clothes and think. …

He was just one of five migrants in a Manhattan courtroom for arraignment one night last week.

Across New York, recently arrived migrants are flooding the criminal justice system — at far higher rates than public officials have acknowledged.

Police sources shared with The Post a staggering estimate that as many as 75% of the people they’ve been arresting in Midtown Manhattan in recent months for crimes like assault, robbery and domestic violence are migrants. In parts of Queens, the figure is more than 60%, sources there estimate.

On any given day, Big Apple criminal court dockets are packed with asylum seekers who have run afoul of the law.

The problem is made much worse by sanctuary city laws that mean New York cops aren’t allowed to work with ICE on cases in which they believe suspects are in the country illegally. Additionally, the NYPD says it is barred from tracking the immigration status of offenders.

This makes it almost impossible for authorities to get their arms around the problem, experts and sources on the ground say.

“New York City eliminated a tool to get rid of violent criminals. What a mess,” Jim Quinn, a veteran former prosecutor at the Queens District Attorney’s Office, told The Post. …

Making matters worse, police sources say, word has gotten out in the shelters about the city’s lax bail guidelines — meaning migrants know they’re going to get kicked back onto the street quickly after they’re nabbed.

A City Hall spokesman pointed to Mayor Eric Adams’ previous calls for the City Council to change the sanctuary city laws. Last week, Adams said, “Right now, we don’t have the authorization to be able to go and coordinate with ICE. We have to follow the law.” …

Meanwhile, Tren de Aragua — the vicious Venezuelan prison gang wreaking armed havoc around the country — has set up shop in NYC and is already tied to hundreds of crimes, including the shootings of two NYPD cops who were trying to arrest a member in June.

The very same pack of thugs has been arming up to facilitate further terrorizing the city, smuggling guns into city-run shelters in food delivery bags to evade metal detectors.

“Most of the people we arrest are professionals — these aren’t their first crimes,” one law enforcement source said.

The cop added that the Biden-Harris administration’s lax border policies, combined with sanctuary city laws, have allowed the problem to fester.

“Crime would be down significantly if there was a wall and we could account for everyone who comes into the country,” the source grumbled. “And more importantly, throw them out if they commit a crime.” …

Business owners and residents of Jackson Heights and Elmhurst said they’ve watched helplessly as the neighborhood has taken a nosedive into a crime-riddled slum.

“People don’t want to come to the pharmacy because of the sidewalks here,” said Jenny Leal, pharmacist at Mi Pharmacia on Roosevelt Avenue, while gesturing to a row of at least 50 vendors who have set up shop in the immediate vicinity.

“The number of prostitutes have doubled in the last two months. They’re starting to act like they are part of the community now,” she said. “We see them every day, it’s like the same people wearing the same outfits. It’s really strange.” …

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(Excerpt from The New York Post. Photo Credit: Drew Tilk on Unsplash)