Almost exactly a year ago, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced charges against three Chilian nationals for breaking into high-end homes in Oakland, Wayne, and Kent counties.

“Home invasions don’t just threaten our property, they threaten our sense of security, and this ring has set entire communities on edge,” Nessel said in a statement last December.

A year later, the problem has only gotten worse with numerous home invasions in recent months, including at least eight in the last seven days, WXYZ reports.

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It’s to the point some of the homes have been hit multiple times, despite a coordinated effort by downstate law enforcement to crack down on the crime spree.

“Initially, I thought Oakland Township, you know, million-dollar homes, that was where they were hitting, so it wasn’t for us. But at the same time, that’s not the case any longer,” Rochester Hills resident Sue Siwek told the news site. “It’s concerning to me – very much.”

The problem stems from federal immigration policy that allows trained criminal gangs from Chile, Columbia, and Venezuela to exploit visa waiver programs or illegal border crossings to gain entry to the U.S.

Once inside, the crews use alarm system jammers, drones, tracking devices and other high-tech equipment to break into unoccupied homes virtually undetected. While the break-ins are impacting communities across the country, they’ve been increasing significantly in Michigan since police began responding to the crimes last year.

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Recent targets include homes in Oakland Township, Rochester Hills, Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Township, Novi, and others, said Oakland County Sheriff’s Mike Bouchard. The thieves have stolen millions in jewelry, cash, watches, purses, and other high-end goods.

“They’re back with a vengeance,” he said. “Obviously, different crews because some of those crews are still in jail.”

“We had some pretty good arrests and charges and took a number of teams off the street and out of commission,” Bouchard told WJBK. “But the problem is there are more teams coming in, and intelligence suggests over 100 teams just from Chile are doing these crimes across the country.”

On Monday, Novi police arrested Chilean national Vania Herrera Valdes for home invasion and resisting arrest after a resident on Equestrian Trail witnessed suspects attempting to break into his home on security cameras around 7:20 p.m.

Officers patrolling the area because of the break-ins located a white van with an out-of-state license plate and attempted to stop the vehicle, which fled the scene.

The driver eventually stopped and four suspects fled on foot. Valdes was the only one officers managed to catch.

“This is a great example of our police and citizens working together to combat these criminal elements that continue to operate throughout the United States,” Novi Police Chief Erick Zinser said. “We will continue to investigate this crime working with our county, state, and federal partners. We continue to ask our community to stay viligant and report any suspicious activity in your neighborhoods.”

Valdes initially provided officers with a fake name, but investigators worked with Immigration and Customs to determine her real name, and that she’s in the country illegally.

Valdes, who already has a criminal record in the U.S., was booked into the Oakland County Jail with a $100,000 bond, WJBK reports.

Valdes’ arrest follows just a couple weeks after numerous homes were targeted in Bloomfield Township, Bloomfield Hills, Square Lake, and Turtle Lake in late October and November.

Those thefts occurred just over a month after Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Victoria Valentine sentenced two of five suspected illegal immigrants involved in a home invasion in Troy over the summer.

Other illegal immigrants were busted in June for their alleged involvement in an organized retail theft ring that plundered tens of thousands of dollars in merchandise from grocery and clothing stores in Auburn Hills and Bloomfield Township.

Three Romanian women were transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody following their June 13 arrests, while another avoided apprehension.