BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Countless immigrants from places like Central and South America are now looking for new homes here in this country, and some of them may end upright here in the Buffalo area.
Governor Kathy Hochul said more than 71,000 migrants and asylum seekers are in New York State, arriving at a hotel in the Big Apple, but they cannot all fit in New York City which is why the governor wants to spread them out across the state.
That is why five local counties have declared a state of emergency.
This will temporarily block migrants from coming here, until local officials can figure how how to integrate them into our communities.
Governor Hochul stopping in Western New York Friday, to highlight a minimum wage increase secured in next year's budget.
7 News asked her how she plans to deal with the influx of thousands of people seeking asylum and how the state can help local counties deal with the situation.
"And more help is needed. so we're working closely with them, literally hour by hour, trying to identify places where they are welcoming communities. and we're working also very hard to make sure that we can get some legal work status that will allow them to go work on the farms and upstate and work in the hotels and work in the restaurants. and I think when we get to that point, it'll change people's attitudes about it rather dramatically," Gov. Hochul said.
One possible temporary solution the governor is proposing is to house immigrants at SUNY colleges and universities, which are typically empty heading into the summer months.
There are also several local organizations that are built to help handle situations like this.
They have recently assisted people from places like Iraq, Afghanistan and countries in Africa settle into their new lives here.
There are a number of local refugee agencies that can help.
The immediate need for the migrant population is going to be housing, followed by legal aid, food, clothing among other things.
Jericho Road's Vive Shelter has housing services, Journey's End Refugee Services, Catholic Charities Immigration & Refugee Assistance and International Institute of Buffalo just to name a few.
International Institute of Buffalo executive director, Jenny Rizzo-Choi said, "The concern with this population of asylum seekers is that they've got to go through the process, file for asylum or get some other type of legal process before they're able to do things like having permission to work."
International Institute of Buffalo executive director Jenny Rizzo-Choi encourages people to support their local refugee agencies, which provide help for people who are in transition.
Rizzo-Choi said, "I think it's a good option to explore. This is not the first time that Buffalo has done that. We actually did utilize Buffalo State during the Afghan crisis, when we got a lot of people coming in at one time. We were able to work with the college. They had a dorm free. We used an entire tower and it worked out well for 6 months."
The following statement was released Saturday morning by Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz:
"A number of New York counties have recently declared states of emergencies regarding the possibility that asylum seekers - persons legally in our country - could be placed in their counties. Some have even issued emergency orders making it illegal to do so and attempt to invalidate any private contract to house these immigrants in hotels.
Buffalo and Erie County have always been welcoming communities to immigrants. During the past decade we have successfully assimilated thousands of immigrants into our community, many refugees from despotic lands. This is one reason for the great rebirth of many previously down-trodden neighborhoods in Buffalo.
Unless you are a Native American, all of us are the descendants of immigrants, some who were forced to come through slavery. You would think that the sons and daughters of immigrants would welcome new peoples to our land. However, the history of our country is replete with xenophobic attacks against immigrants who don't look, speak, or pray like us.
During each wave of immigration our ancestors were excoriated because of where they came from, the color of their skin, their native language, and so on. Excuses were made for the attacks, but none of them ever justified the hateful discriminatory nature of what was being done to these "new" Americans.
One year ago, a white supremacist came to our community to kill as many African-Americans solely because of their color of their skin. He was allegedly radicalized because of what he read on social media.
Words Matter. The acts of leaders matter.
As county executive, I will not be declaring a state of emergency regarding the possibility that legal asylum seekers may be housed in our county.
Furthermore, I will also not be issuing an emergency order prohibiting the housing of legal asylum seekers in our community. Not only is such an order illegal under Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it is morally repugnant.
Yesterday, I attended an event in the Southern Tier of New York. While in Owego in Tioga County, I came across a banner in front of an Episcopal Church that perfectly says what many need to hear:
Love your neighbor who doesn't look like you, think like you, love like you, speak like you, pray like you, vote like you. Love your Neighbor. No Exceptions."
