The illegal alien criminal who was arrested for stealing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem’s purse had previously been released back onto the streets by a so-called “sanctuary” city just weeks prior.
The shocking theft of Noem’s purse is shining a light on the disastrous open border policies of the Biden administration.
The residual effects of these policies continue to obstruct immigration enforcement in Democrat-run “sanctuary” jurisdictions.
Just a few weeks before targeting Noem, Chilean man Mario Bustamante-Leiva was busted in New York City for a similar theft.
However, he was set free because of the city’s “sanctuary” policies.
The story begins with Bustamante-Leiva’s entry into the United States in 2021.
He was released into the interior of the United States by the Biden administration despite his role in a highly publicized $28,000 robbery spree in Britain that led to his imprisonment for three years.
Bustamante-Leiva crossed the Southern Border illegally in 2021.
However, Bustamante-Leiva was waved into the U.S. “legally” by Biden officials in 2021, according to the Daily Mail.
Unsurprisingly, he later violated the terms of his release.
He came to wider public attention after he snatched Noem’s Gucci handbag during an Easter meal with her family at a restaurant in Washington, D.C.
The purse contained $3,000 in cash, Noem’s credit card, her DHS badge, and other personal items.
The brazen thug was caught on surveillance footage stealing Noem’s purse from under her feet at Capital Burger in D.C.
It was his fourth theft in just eight days.
The self-admitted drunk went on to splurge on food and alcohol using Noem’s stolen credit card, racking up $200 in charges at an Italian restaurant.
Police busted Bustamante-Leiva in the nation’s capital on Saturday.
The next day, his accomplice, another illegal alien from Chile, was arrested in Florida.
Despite her public-facing role in the Trump administration, it is believed that Noem was targeted randomly and not for any political purpose.
She’s far from the only victim of the open borders madness that Biden unleashed.
According to the New York Post, police in the Big Apple arrested Bustamante-Leiva on March 2 for a similar crime at an Indian restaurant in Times Square.
The suspect made off with the victim’s fanny pack.
Within 20 minutes, he had made $1,200 in fraudulent credit card purchases.
The victim, an international student from India, was left shaken.
Yet, police let the suspect go with a desk appearance ticket on fourth-degree felony grand larceny charges.
Not surprisingly, the suspect never showed up for his court appearance.
“That’s insane,” the student said.
“I don’t know how he was let out after that without any reason.
“I mean, putting in so much effort and then coming to the States and experiencing something like that intrigued my frightened side.”
Because of New York City’s “sanctuary” policy, police were prevented from reporting the suspect to federal immigration agents.
This enabled him to continue with his crime spree.
READ MORE – California Democrat: Every Illegal Alien ‘Living in My District Is My Constituent’
