Cops say hands are tied in arresting unruly 'desnudas' naked female panhandlers 'because most are illegal immigrants'

Are naked ‘desnudas’ panhandlers finding sanctuary in NYC?

New York City’s female naked “desnudas” panhandlers shake down tourists for tips. Why one report says cops refuse to arrest them

Lewd and rude “desnudas” – naked female panhandlers – are harassing tourists in New York’s Times Square, but cops reportedly can’t arrest them “because most of them are illegal immigrants.”

Women who have their bodies painted in Times Square pose for a picture. (Reuters)

The desnudas -- a Spanish word meaning "naked" -- are part of a Times Square assembly of popular costumed children’s characters and mostly-naked females hitting tourists up for money in the uber-popular New York City district. A law enforcement source told The New York Post that past proposals to license the often obnoxious street performers went nowhere because most of them are illegal immigrants and wouldn’t register anyway. Plus, City Hall, under Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio, isn’t interested in going after illegals such as the desnudas, the source told The Post.

So with little police enforcement, squads of Minnie Mouses, Incredible Hulks and painted women continue to pester passersby.

A woman poses for tips wearing body paint and underwear. (Reuters)

“I told you, if you don’t have a tip, then f--- off!” one desnuda told a Post reporter.

Times Square Alliance President Tim Tomkins told The Post many of the Times Square performers continuously leave their Designated Activity Zones in an effort to earn more cash as part of what he called a “scam.”

“Suddenly, there’s three Minnies in your picture,” Tomkins said. “And a Batman, and a Spider-Man. And they all want cash. And they’re all outside the zone.”

Times Square performers, including the "desnudas," are limited to a Designated Activity Zone -- but many of them reportedly venture outside the zone. (Reuters)

One tourist from Alabama told The Post: “I just encountered that with Cookie Monster. I didn’t want to get a photo, and he or she or whoever it was, they were very aggressive with me.”

Then, when cops approach, Cookie, Minnie and the desnudas scamper back to the DAZ.

The NYPD insists it’s enforcing the law, with a spokesman telling The Post that “a number of arrests and hundreds of summons issued to costume characters” have been handed out during the past year.