Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Dr. Myron Glick, founder of Jericho Road Community Health Center said he feels horrible about two recent cases alleging sexual assault by asylum seekers. But in an interview on WBEN Wednesday, he said, "As a community, we don't want to be identified by a worst moment."
Jericho Road provides services for refugees, asylum seekers, migrants and the marginalized.
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Glick has been helping resettle these populations for over 27 years in Buffalo. He has literally met thousands of asylum seekers. Overwhelmingly, he said they are good people who are contributing to our community. He doesn't think they should be judged by the actions of one or two people.
He does, however, support the Erie County Executive's decision to suspend the program of taking migrants out of New York City on buses in the middle of the night and bringing them to Buffalo to be placed in hotels.
"That is the right decision. But I do believe that Buffalo still needs to be a welcoming community to asylum seekers. The idea of bringing folks to hotels, is probably a failed model. But bringing them and resettling them into this community is one that we should embrace," he said.
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Glick added that many factors are at play right now. U.S. immigration policy for one. The federal government, he said, is not helpful to local communities, and secondly, the fact that New York City is currently overwhelmed.
"None of us can afford to just say no, or ignore what's happening across the world. "We cannot turn our back on this. It's a problem that we all have to work together to try to solve."
The vetting of migrants has also been criticized. "We've worked with refugees for many, many years," said Glick. "We know the process. It happens in refugee camps, in the country of origin. There is a process that is orderly and
has worked very well. But it's not that way for asylum seekers crossing the border. It's a pretty chaotic process. We've learned over the last three months that the folks that are being put on buses are not being screened for health
problems and they're not being screened in hardly any way." Adding, "the vetting process is pretty lacking."
Regarding a possible solution, Dr. Glick said he thinks there is a model that would work for the migrants coming from New York City. "We're actually working on a model similar to the refugee resettlement programs. A family in New York City would be vetted. They would contact an organization such as Jericho Road or one of our partners. We would have a chance to interview them. They would be ready to work. Their asylum case would be started. They would come to Buffalo after we find a house for them. They would receive help for the first 6 to 12 months and then they would be self-sufficient. That's a model that could work."