Carol and Jeff Starr celebrated their daughter’s wedding last month with a touch of irony: Neither wore their wedding ring to the ceremony. Thieves broke into their Southern California home last spring and emptied a safe full of jewelry.
“They hit the jackpot,” Carol Starr told CNN.
The couple had locked their own rings in a 6-foot-tall safe, where they also secured heirloom jewelry passed down from Carol’s late mother.
“My mother loved beautiful things and she wanted to leave a legacy through jewelry,” Carol Starr said. “She bought beautiful antique jewelry, museum-quality jewelry.”
Prosecutors in Orange County, California, allege that a group of thieves hid in the hillside adjacent to the Starrs’ home, watched them leave with visiting relatives and moved out.
“They broke through our fence, they kicked out an upper bedroom window and came in through that window,” Jeff Starr told CNN. “And then I immediately started working…on the safe.”
The total loss: $8 million, the family estimates.
“You don’t feel safe in your home anymore,” Carol Starr said, grateful no one came home during the burglary. “I get so emotional and so angry when I think about what could have happened.”
Prosecutors say the break-in is part of a larger problem in which “burglar tourists” enter the United States from countries eligible for visa waivers, allowing up to 90 days of visa-free visitation traditional tourist. When suspects arrive — most often from South America, prosecutors say — they join sophisticated burglary rings that prey on luxury homes.
In some cases, suspects “wait in these ghillie suits to stay camouflaged,” Orange County Prosecutor Todd Spitzer said. “They take advantage of the fact that most people don’t have window sensors or motion detectors on the second floor. They have WiFi jammers to prevent the alarm company from being notified.
Spitzer said stolen goods are often sold quickly and the money is sent back to the suspect’s home country. Most often, it is Chile, he said, which is now the only South American country eligible for the Department of Homeland Security’s waiver program, known as the Electronic Security System. ‘travel authorization’ or ESTA.
The problem extends beyond California. Last month, police in Scottsdale, Arizona, announced they had arrested three Chilean nationals in connection with what authorities called a “spree of burglaries” in the city.
Over the past year, police in Baltimore, Maryland; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Nassau County, New York, were among those announcing arrests in luxury home burglaries linked to Chilean nationals in the United States on visa waivers.
Although there is no official count of the number of crimes committed by “tourist burglars,” the number appears to be in the hundreds at least. Ventura County, California alone attributed 175 residential burglaries to “transnational theft groups” between 2019 and mid-2023.
“Not all Chileans come to the United States under this 90-day tourism program… they don’t all commit crimes,” Scottsdale Police Chief Jeff Walther said at a conference in press in March. “I’m not saying they are… But what we’re getting is hundreds, hundreds, even thousands of people coming in under the visa waiver program and committing residential burglaries in dozens and dozens and dozens of cities and neighborhoods across the country. This is not a Scottsdale problem, this is not a Valley problem, this is not an Arizona problem. This is a national issue.
Walther added: “We must be prepared to start asking tough questions of our federal government regarding the Visa Waiver Program. »
Looking for answers in South America
Rama and Balakrishna Sundar built their dream home overlooking the ocean in Dana Point, California. After suspected ‘burglar tourists’ broke in through a bedroom window last year, they are trying to regain their peace of mind.
“We want to get away from here and I don’t feel safe at all,” Rama Sundar told CNN.
The burglars also used a hammer on an elevator door, perhaps thinking a safe was behind it, Balakrishna Sundar said. When the alarm company was alerted, the burglars fled without anything of value. The suspects were Chilean nationals and at least one was out on bail for another crime, according to a complaint filed in Orange County.
Spitzer, the district attorney, has sharply criticized Chile, saying Chile does not release general information about people receiving visa waivers, which hampers prosecutions here in the United States.
“If we don’t know the criminal history of these individuals … then we can’t tell the judge anything or make any statement about their background,” he said. “Which means the person is released without bail and never returns to face the charges.” »
The Chilean government did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.
The Department of Homeland Security’s website says the waiver program is vital for “expanding economic and cultural ties.” More than 40 countries are eligible for the program.
In a statement to CNN, the ministry acknowledged that it was “deeply concerned about certain individuals who travel to the United States and engage in criminal activity,” but added that “Chilean officials have responded by improving operational cooperation with DHS to prevent travel…of known criminals.” actors.”
The agency also said it is accelerating the sharing of biometric information between the United States and Chile which, when fully implemented, will allow U.S. authorities to access travelers’ criminal histories.
In March, Spitzer filed a lawsuit against the U.S. State Department, demanding details of a bilateral security agreement aimed at preventing and combating serious crimes that he signed with Chile in July.
“Where’s the proof in the pudding?” Spitzer said. “How come we are not seeing a significant decrease in these burglaries?
The Sundar family also questioned the level of urgency of this issue in Washington.
“I want a politician to experience this and feel exactly what I feel,” Balakrishna Sundar said.
“They’re supposed to help us,” his wife added. “It’s very annoying and disturbing.”
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