Illegal Aliens from South America Are Burglarizing Rich Asians in D.C. Suburbs

Illegal aliens, and foreign nationals using the little-known Visa Waiver Program (VWP), from South America are flocking to the suburbs of Washington, D.C. to burglarize rich Asian Americans, the Washington Post reports.

Groups of illegal aliens, often posing as Peurto Ricans, and foreign nationals arriving in the U.S. on the VWP are sweeping the nation in states like Virginia, Texas, South Carolina, New York, New Jersey, and California with organized home burglaries.

In the D.C. suburbs of Fairfax County, the illegal aliens and foreign nationals are targeting wealthy Asian Americans with million-dollar homes and loads of expensive items. One Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) official called the so-called “crime tourists” an “enormous threat right now in our country” that is expanding every day.

Even after being arrested, though, the illegal aliens and foreign nationals face such low bail that they are often quickly released from police custody.

The Post reports:

Law enforcement experts say cells of professional South American burglars, particularly from Colombia and Chile, are entering the country illegally or exploiting a visa waiver program meant to expedite tourism from dozens of trusted foreign countries. [Emphasis added]

Once here, they travel from state to state carrying out scores of burglaries, jewelry heists and other crimes, pilfering tens or hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of goods each year, the FBI estimates. Experts said the groups often operate with impunity because they have found a kind of criminal sweet spot. [Emphasis added]

Bail for nonviolent property offenses is often low, so an arrested burglar often quickly gets bond and skips town for the next job, experts said. The crimes often don’t meet the threshold for the involvement of federal authorities. And they attract less attention at a time when U.S. authorities are contending with a rise in homicides. [Emphasis added]

While those involved from Chile are able to arrive in the U.S. without a visa as part of the VWP, Colombia is not a VWP country and thus police allege that criminals are arriving illegally or on fraudulent documents that claim they are Puerto Rican.

Despite warnings that the VWP should be curtailed or eliminated altogether by the 9/11 Commission Staff Report, every administration since former President George W. Bush has expanded the program.

In 2019, for instance, former President Trump expanded the VWP to include Poland. Last year, President Joe Biden expanded the VWP to include Croatia.

The VWP list includes Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Chile, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.