A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer looks on during an operation in Escondido, Calif., July 8, 2019. **FILE**Federal authorities have identified a new migrant crime “industry” involving robbery crews from South America who exploit America’s immigration system, break into a string of homes and make off with loot, then flee back to their home countries.
The FBI said they are part of a trend of migrants who travel up from South America, hop from community to community hitting multiple homes in each, then head back home. Authorities say the Chileans often come legally, arrive as tourists, go on a crime spree and then return home. Chile is part of the U.S. visa waiver program which means most visitors can skip the usual in-person interview overseas.
Security footage from the building showed figures believed to be the suspects lugging a safe the same day police in Baltimore say a safe was stolen from a home there. Authorities have also linked the South American crime wave to Colombians, Peruvians, Ecuadorians and Venezuelans — particularly Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan-born gang that’s become a focus amid the Biden border surge.