A Romanian couple who entered the country illegally allegedly stole gold necklaces off the necks of elderly Americans across four states, exploiting the very decency of strangers — and they might already be back on the street if New York's sanctuary politicians had their way.

Rudi Lacatusu, 28, and Mirabela Lacatusu, 26, are now in ICE custody after Nassau County police linked them to at least 14 jewelry thefts across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Maryland, according to DHS. Each stolen necklace was worth between $2,000 and $3,000. Victims were mostly in their 70s.

The scheme was simple and cruel. The couple would pull up to a stranger, typically a senior citizen, and ask for directions. When the Good Samaritan helped, Mirabela would step out of the car, offer a thank-you hug, and unclasp the victim's necklace while her arms were around them. In one case, she told a victim it was her "custom" to give a gift and that refusing would offend her, The Gateway Pundit reported. The gift was a fake gold chain. The victim's real one was already gone.

A 73-year-old woman in Valley Stream, New York, only realized her roughly $2,000 gold chain was missing after the car had driven away.

Both were charged with three counts of fourth-degree grand larceny. Nassau County police initially issued the pair appearance tickets — the kind of catch-and-release that has become standard in jurisdictions that prioritize illegal aliens over citizens — before turning them over to ICE.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin didn't mince words: "Thanks to local partners in New York, these illegal aliens are in ICE custody and will be removed from our country. If it were up to sanctuary politicians like Governor Kathy Hochul, these criminals would be back on the streets to rob more Americans."

Fox News reported that DHS used the arrests to renew its criticism of New York's sanctuary policies, calling the state a "hotbed of illegal alien crime" under Hochul with "disastrous consequences" beyond its borders. The DOJ has also sued Connecticut and New Haven over sanctuary policies, citing "open defiance" of federal immigration law.

This pair is one data point in a much larger pattern. During Operation Rotten Apple, a summer ICE crackdown running July 27 through August 29, officers arrested 2,197 illegal immigrants across New York alone — including individuals DHS described as murderers, rapists, child predators, drug traffickers, and violent assailants.

Both Lacatusus entered the U.S. illegally at an unknown time and location, DHS said. That phrasing tells you everything about the state of the border: two foreign nationals could cross into this country undetected, travel across four states, and systematically prey on American seniors for who knows how long before anyone in authority caught up with them.

One senior in Floral Park stopped the theft when the couple tried to grab and hug her. Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder's advice: "If some stranger's coming out of the car and they want to give you a hug, that's a no-no."

Fair enough. But the better question is why strangers who shouldn't be in the country at all are driving through American neighborhoods hunting elderly citizens in the first place.