Buffalo Rejects NYC Migrants After Two Assault Allegations
Buffalo officials are pulling back the red carpet for illegal migrants shipped from New York City after two separate accusations of attacks at area hotels.
Western New York’s Erie County recoiled in horror after the incidents were reported at sites where migrants were relocated. County Executive Mark Poloncarz declared the citizens’ “trust and good faith have been betrayed.”
The leader told reporters that “two serious violent crimes are alleged to have occurred in the past two weeks, and they are two too many.”
The initial incident involved a Venezuelan migrant who stands accused of attacking his partner in the presence of their three-year-old child on Aug. 2. Jesus Guzman-Bermudez, 26, faces multiple charges in the alleged attack.
The second alleged incident was reported by a 27-year-old Buffalo woman. She told police that Kindu Jeancy, an illegal migrant from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, attacked her. He was arrested on Friday on several charges including unlawful imprisonment.
Police reported the victim is a worker with Platinum Community Care, a group assisting asylum seekers at an area Best Western hotel.
Poloncarz announced that specific facility will no longer house those sent from NYC. “The hotel is located in a residential neighborhood and is not only causing safety concerns to nearby residents, but also quality of life issues.”
He further called for the hotel’s immediate closure and demanded NYC officials reimburse the town of Cheektowaga for the costs.
The county executive told the media that he was in contact with NYC Mayor Eric Adams. He said he “demanded” that “all further transportation of asylum seekers to our community” stop. Adams agreed.
Multiple issues have arisen with protecting the safety of local residents. Police Chief Brian Gould asked officials for funds for overtime pay due to having officers stretched thin by the influx of migrants.
He told officials that he “cannot add police presence in that neighborhood without taking it away from another neighborhood and that shouldn’t happen.”
Gould urged employees of companies assisting with housing the asylum seekers to immediately report crimes. He called for a review of security procedures at the sites and said they need guards with “training to deal with this special population.”
Currently the National Guard is being brought in to provide security services around the migrants.
