TONAWANDA, NY (WKBW) — While appearing in Tonawanda on Tuesday New York Governor Kathy Hochul addressed the issue of more than 500 asylum seekers now living in temporary housing in the Buffalo area, but she assures our community things are under control.
“And I understand the feelings. People live in our communities. There is a fear of the unknown. What does this mean? are the numbers going to increase? Can we handle this? That is real for our residents,” remarked Hochul.
Hochul announced Tuesday she is allocating $36 million in additional funding to help upstate communities like Buffalo, and she wants to speed up the process for them to receive legal work status.
“What that means is we have to institute case management programs. Don't just let these people come here and wait and wait and wait because nothing will change until they apply for asylum,” Hochul explained.
Hochul says if the migrants were granted quicker work status, they could help with the employment crisis.
“Our Department of Labor has so many employers on a list waiting to take them to work, restaurants, hotels ready to put them in training programs, so this can help alleviate a crushing problem we have now,” Hochul stated.
But now the governor is at odds with the New York State Attorney General Tish James saying the legal requirement to provide shelter to asylum seekers only applies to New York City and not statewide. James disagrees saying it is a "human right."
I pressed Hochul on this division.
“How are you handling that as a state leader?” Buckley questioned.
“Well, I am handling it. I am the leader of the State of New York and we have an unprecedented humanitarian crisis,” replied Hochul. “So that is a legal difference of interpretation. I have an attorney and my legal team believes that that state right that there's not a statewide obligation to provide shelter, unlimited, universal taxpayer support, and shelter for literally the entire world. that is not our interpretation of the New York State constitution.”
Hochul noted that the state legislature has not said that there is a statewide right to shelter.
Meanwhile, 44 asylum seekers who had to leave the dorms at Buffalo State University Monday are now in new temporary housing.
READ MORE: Buffalo State ending temporary housing agreement for 44 asylum seekers
Dr. Myron Glick, the founder, and CEO of Jericho Road in Buffalo, tells me this group is separate from the other migrants brought to live at three Cheektowaga hotels.
“We are hopeful in the next 30-days most of them are work ready, so they can get jobs and hopefully get into their own apartments in the next 30 days, so that's our plan,” described Dr. Glick.
Glick said the 44 asylum seekers were relocated Monday. Eight single men are living at an undisclosed church rectory in Buffalo and the 36 others, which includes 12 children, were taken to a hotel, but Glick will not reveal the location.
The 44 migrants come from 14 different countries, and he noted some are well-educated, but are here to escape from poor situations in those countries.
Glick says he believes Buffalo State wanted to end its agreement to house the migrants because of prejudice regarding fears because two asylum seekers at the Cheektowaga hotels were charged with sexual assault.
“The pressure from these Buffalo State family parents, who didn't want their children to be associated with these asylum seekers, when you start to make decisions based on misinformation, based on what isn't actually true, then, in that case, I believe that's discrimination,” Glick described.
Glick is urging the state and federal government to offer local communities more support.
Western New York Congressman Brian Higgins agrees.
“So, the federal government should step up and meet its financial and moral obligations, relative to the asylum seekers that have come in,” Higgins noted.
Higgins says communities are dealing with this burden because of the failure of Congress to create immigration reform.
