April 6 :
According to a media investigation, individuals from countries that are eligible for visa waivers are allegedly joining organised burglary rings that target high-end residences across the United States.
A California couple named Rama and Balakrishna Sundar, who are of Indian American descent, were reportedly targeted by so-called "burglary tourists." Last year, intruders gained access to their oceanfront dream house in Dana Point, California, via a bedroom window.
Balakrishna Sundar, speaking to the TV channel, said that the robbers may have thought a safe was behind a lift door and proceeded to smash it with a sledgehammer. Even after the alarm company was alerted, the would-be thieves made off with nothing of value. The individuals in question were Chilean nationals, and according to the Orange County complaint, one of them was already free on bond for a separate offence. Even the Sundar family doubted that this matter was a top priority in Washington. Balakrishna Sundar expressed his desire for a politician to go through the same thing, noting that he might feel the same way. Their role is to assist us, his wife chimed in. "I find it quite bothersome and unsettling."
According to authorities in Orange County, California, the break-ins are a symptom of a bigger problem wherein individuals from nations that are eligible for visa exemptions are able to enter the US for up to 90 days without a standard tourist visa. According to prosecutors, the suspects typically come from South America and then join gangs that target high-end residences in a calculated attempt to break in.
According to Todd Spitzer, the district attorney for Orange County, the defendants "lie in wait in these ghillie suits so they remain camouflaged" in certain instances.
They capitalise on the fact that the majority of people living in two-story homes do not have motion detectors or window sensors. In order to prevent the alarm company from being notified, they have WiFi jammers. Spitzer stated that the suspect's native nation usually receives the proceeds from the sale of the stolen goods.
According to him, Chile is usually the case because it is the last South American country that can participate in the "Electronic System for Travel Authorization," or ESTA, waiver programme run by the Department of Homeland Security.
Arrests in incidents of high-end home burglaries using Chilean nationals in the United States on visa exemptions have been announced by authorities in various jurisdictions in the past year. These jurisdictions include Raleigh, North Carolina; Nassau County, New York; and Baltimore, Maryland.
There may not be an official count, but CNN reports that the number of crimes perpetrated by so-called "burglary tourists" is likely in the hundreds. From 2019 to the middle of 2023, "transnational theft groups" were responsible for 175 home invasions in Ventura County, California.
The district attorney, Spitzer, has been outspoken in his criticism of Chile, arguing that the country is preventing prosecution in the United States by withholding background information on individuals granted visa waivers.
"If we are unaware of their criminal histories... we are unable to inform the court or provide any representation regarding their backgrounds," he stated. "Which implies the individual is let go without posting bail and is never brought back to face the charges."
The US State Department was sued by Spitzer in March for failing to disclose the specifics of a bilateral security pact it struck with Chile in July to prevent and combat serious crime. "The pudding isn't yet proof," Spitzer stated. "Do you know why the number of these burglaries has not decreased significantly?"
