An illegal immigrant from Guatemala who had been deported by the previous Trump administration was arrested Sunday for allegedly setting a woman on fire on the New York City subway.
The suspect, 33, has not been named publicly, but the New York Post reported that he first entered the U.S. illegally in 2018 during the first Trump administration, but was deported within days. The man then re-entered the U.S. under the Biden administration’s lax border laws, according to reporter Nick Sortor.
🚨 #BREAKING: The Trump administration previously DEPORTED the Guatemalan migrant who set a woman on fire, per NYP
But when he re-entered the country illegally under Biden, he was RELEASED into the interior
INFURIATING.
The kller was even living in an NYC migrant shelter, and… pic.twitter.com/lJgIPmbw4c
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) December 23, 2024
The Post reported that it is unknown how long the suspect has been in New York, but law enforcement sources told the outlet that the man stayed at multiple taxpayer-funded migrant shelters around New York City. Those same sources told the Post that the suspect’s previous criminal history is “largely clean” except for entering the country illegally.
Video of the woman on fire went viral Sunday evening, showing her standing in the doorway as a law enforcement officer walks by without offering assistance. The video also showed the suspect sitting on a bench facing the train car and watching the woman burn to death.
Also on Sunday, two people were stabbed in a separate attack on the subway, with a man stabbed in the chest who later died and another man stabbed in the face.
After these attacks, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul put out a tweet claiming crime was down on the subways, which was immediately mocked on social media, The Daily Wire reported.
“In March, I took action to make our subways safer for the millions of people who take the trains each day. Since deploying the @NationalGuardNY to support @NYPDnews and @MTA safety efforts and adding cameras to all subway cars, crime is going down, and ridership is going up,” Hochul wrote on X.
In March, I took action to make our subways safer for the millions of people who take the trains each day.
Since deploying the @NationalGuardNY to support @NYPDnews and @MTA safety efforts and adding cameras to all subway cars, crime is going down, and ridership is going up. pic.twitter.com/T7uRxx9nIO
— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) December 22, 2024
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) criticized Hochul’s tweet after news of the stabbings and burning broke.
“Two hours ago, Kathy Hochul took a victory lap for making subways ‘safer.’ She congratulates herself on the same day two subway riders were stabbed in Queens (one in the face and one in the chest) and another was barbarically burned alive. Has there ever been a more tone-deaf Governor in the history of New York?” Torres posted.
Two hours ago, Kathy Hochul took a victory lap for making subways “safer.” She congratulates herself on the same day two subway riders were stabbed in Queens (one in the face and one in the chest) and another was barbarically burned alive.
Has there ever been a more tone-deaf… pic.twitter.com/KIPujqpKa3
— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) December 22, 2024
The woman who was burned alive was apparently sleeping when the suspect lit a match and tossed it on her. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Sunday that it was “one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit,” the Post reported.
