Car insurance rates are skyrocketing amid rising auto-related crime and worsening inflation for ordinary Americans.
While there are several reasons for the rate hikes, one important reason is the soaring amount of vandalism and theft befalling car owners — and much of the auto crime is being driven by President Joe Biden’s migrants.
The New York Post, for example, reported that two migrants, one of whom was armed with a fully automatic firearm, stole a policeman’s car in New York City.
The paper noted that police think the two are Venezuelan migrants.
Both were arrested, and police identified them as Jomar Crespo, 21, and Jose Rivera, 20, both of whom lived in Waterbury, Connecticut. However, authorities believe the suspects gave fake names, the sources said.
Pressures like these have caused auto insurance rates to rise 21 percent from February 2023 to February 2024, CNN reported in March.
Michael Barry of the Insurance Information Institute told WREG-TV that crime is a factor in insurance rates.
“The insurer does account for where you live as one of the variables. Not only your driving record but what are the vandalism and theft trends in your community. That has an impact on what you pay for auto insurance as well,” Barry said. “There was the Kia and Hundayi thefts, certain models being stolen to the point where two name brand auto insurers were not taking on new customers in certain American cities.”
Barry added that similar increases in rates are occurring in many large cities.
Indeed, most big cities are seeing jumps in carjackings, and that is also affecting insurance rates. According to the Daily Signal, in 2023, the National Insurance Crime Bureau reported more than one million auto thefts in the U.S., the most since 2007.
The Daily Signal wrote in June:
Washington, D.C., saw a staggering 64% increase in vehicle thefts in 2023. Consequently, insurance rates in the nation’s capital rose by 30% between 2022 to 2023. Nevada endured an 18% increase in motor vehicle theft, and insurance rates climbed 35% in the Silver State.
Catalytic converter thefts are also wreaking havoc among car owners, especially in California. Several years ago, the federal government announced the takedown of a multi-million-dollar catalytic converter theft ring that worked out of California, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Virginia, and Wyoming. At least 21 people were arrested in the investigation.
Many of these thieves are migrants.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Deputy Director Patrick J. Lechleitner said in a press release:
This level of organized criminal activity is extremely costly and detrimental to victims and taxpayers – organized theft groups are sophisticated networks that profit from illegally obtained goods and are often involved in various other crimes further funded by proceeds from illicit operations. We cannot overemphasize enough that these are not victimless crimes, and that the increased number of these crimes poses a very legitimate threat to the U.S. economy. Our HSI special agents continue to work tirelessly to disrupt these criminal organizations and bring those who seek to profit from counterfeit or stolen products to justice.
In 2023, officials in Colorado brought a 121-count indictment against 13 migrants for an organized car theft ring.
The rising crime is costing all Americans more in insurance rates. But the auto-related crime perpetrated by migrants is not just a problem in the U.S. As illegal migration has soared in the U.S., it has risen in Canada, thanks to the open border policies of Canadian President Justin Trudeau.
On Tuesday, for instance, the Toronto Star reported that Canadian police had arrested 18 people, including a 14-year-old boy, in connection to a violent armed carjacking and home invasion ring.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston, or Truth Social @WarnerToddHuston
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