“CNN This Morning” hosts Phil Mattingly and Erica Hill appeared genuinely surprised Friday to learn the reason that migrants released into the United States tend to commit crimes in New York City and not Florida is due to the consequences they will face.
CNN law enforcement analyst John Miller was discussing the case of six migrants accused of attacking two New York City police officers outside a shelter in Times Square on Saturday.
WABC-TV reported that five of the six arrested and charged so far were released without bail. Four of them are believed to have boarded a bus bound for California.
A sixth defendant, Yohenry Brito, 24, is being held in lieu of $15,000 bail or a $50,000 bond because he was positively identified in video footage of the attack, thanks to a distinctive tattoo, according to the New York Post.
Miller explained on CNN that the accused men had criminal records.
“These individuals — I went over their rap sheets yesterday: multiple charges, grand larceny, robbery, attempted robbery,” he told the hosts.
“This particular crew operated on mopeds and scooters. They were doing organized retail theft. They were doing snatches on the street: iPhones, iPads, clothing, so on and so forth,” Miller recounted. “One of them that they are still seeking has 10 charges on one day, because he’s part of pattern that’s been going on.”
The charges appear to stem back to shortly after the men got into the U.S. a couple of months ago, he noted.
“What the detectives are telling me is, they have crews here that operate in New York, do all their stealing, then go to Florida to spend the money, and then come back,” Miller said.
He said he asked his law enforcement contacts, “Why don’t they just stay and steal in Florida?”
“Because there, you go to jail” was the response he received.
Hill responded, “Oh,” while Mattingly said, “Wow.”
There was an awkward pause. Mattingly looked at Hill and then back to Miller and said, “great reporting.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has twice used his authority to suspend district attorneys because of what he determined to be their soft-on-crime policies, according to the Associated Press.
Last May, the governor signed legislation into law that pushed back on “bail reform” efforts, such as cashless bail as implemented in New York.
“Florida is a law-and-order state with a 50-year record low crime rate and double-digit year-over-year decreases in murder, burglary, and overall crime,” DeSantis said in a news release at the time.
“For three consecutive legislative sessions we have enacted tough-on-crime policies, and this year we are continuing to implement measures to protect our communities and keep Florida safe, with a particular emphasis on keeping criminals in jail.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.