A police shooter accused of allegedly smuggling a gun into a migrant facility remains in a shelter with X-rays and magnetometers to scan for weapons, officials said.
Security guards at the East Elmhurst shelter have been “retrained” in using hand-held batons and scanned objects since former resident Bernardo Raul Castro Mata, 19, allegedly shot two NYPD officers, city officials told The Post.
But Mata’s astonishing, but still unverified, claim that the bloodthirsty Tren de Aragua gang, based in Venezuela, used food delivery bags to sneak guns to members, prompted lawmakers of all stripes to call for heightened security at city-run migrant shelters. .
Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Queens) said that “the powers that be are being cheated of relying on the honor system.”
“Violent criminals are taking advantage of a system that is too lenient, and they have no respect for our police, let alone the citizen security guards hired to monitor these facilities,” he told The Post.
The city’s migrant shelters have been plagued by security problems, from violent stabbings and brawls to assaults on police to security guards racking up $117 an hour.
Many citizens and politicians insist that lawlessness spreads from shelters to local neighborhoods – claims supported by the NYPD crackdown on the rise of two-heeled heists by migrant moped gangs.
“Only people living in an alternate universe can’t see the correlation between mass migrant camp cities and shelters and increased crime in neighborhoods,” said Joseph Borelli (R-Staten Island), the council’s minority leader.
Councilman Robert Holden (D-Queens) said Mata — a member of the independent Tren de Aragua who told police the gang routinely shoots police in Venezuela — is a “poster child” against open borders and sanctuary city status.
“This is why everyone who comes into our country should be screened and not be in a shelter system that I believe should now use metal detectors,” he said.
Assemblywoman Vickie Paladino (R-Queens) said more security at shelters is warranted, but more power for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Mayor Eric Adams also supported this idea earlier in the year.
“You have people in the City Council yelling about crime but when we want to give our police force more power they start yelling in the opposite direction,” said Paladino.
But other more progressive council members say the problem isn’t far from the Big Apple.
Diana Ayala (D-Manhattan/Bronx) told The Post that migrant shelters have “low levels of security” that are the problem, rather than border policies.
“It could have happened in a controlled shelter in the city, right, where New Yorkers could smuggle drugs or guns — so we have certain policies within the structure of the shelter to prevent that kind of thing from happening,” he said. .
“The problem with migrant facilities is that they don’t have them.”
He said lawmakers have been calling for metal detectors at the facility for some time to no avail – noting that someone had “climbed” into the shelter.
“Some migrants jumped the fence and entered through the back door,” he said.
Chris Banks (D-Brooklyn) said turning attention to border policy and sanctuary status is distracting us from the real issue.
“There seems to be a lot of concern about what happened, but my question is what is the city doing to address it?” Banks said.
Mata’s allegations about guns being smuggled into migrant shelters have not been verified, city officials said.
He was kicked out of the former Marriott Courtyard along Ditmars Boulevard near LaGuardia Airport after a domestic incident, not a weapons violation, officials said.
Security guards at migrant shelters across the city have received additional training, according to officials.
“All of our shelters have 24/7 security, and we’ve made it clear that anyone who violates our code of conduct or threatens the safety of other shelter residents and staff will be immediately removed,” a City Hall spokesperson said.
