Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - 44 migrants moved out of Buffalo State University dorms Monday after college leadership ended an agreement with Jericho Road Community Health Center.
"We enthusiastically agreed to help them out for a short period," said Dr. Bonita Durand, interim President of Buffalo State University told WBEN on Tuesday. "It was when our campus was at its lowest census. We helped them house clients until they could find some permanent housing for them."
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It was Durand's understanding that the agreement was for the summer and until the start of the new semester when students would be returning.
Dr. Myron Glick, CEO of Jericho Road, said he was in active conversation with school officials about a six month extension.
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"What happened," Glick said, "are the recent incidents at local hotels, in which asylum seekers were charged with crimes. That really changed the conversation. The school started to get a lot of pressure from parents of incoming students. They were concerned about their children's safety."
Over the weekend, Glick issued a statement, saying the decision "was influenced by prejudice in the Buffalo community against asylum seekers."
Durand said she chalks that up to Glick's passion and his tremendous support for the migrant community.
"I don't take offense to it. Everybody has their own opinion. I believe he was doing what he thought he should do to protect his clients," noted Durand.
Glick, on the other hand, said he still stands by that statement. "The idea that we would judge a whole group of people by the reprehensible actions of one or two people, is a problem. Prejudice is when we make assumptions about a group that are not based in fact. When a decision is made based on that prejudice, in this case, by the Buffalo State parents, who found it offensive, then that becomes discriminatory." He added, "we should be better than that as a community."
Glick, who has been assisting refugees and migrants for the past 27 years in Buffalo, said he is not trying to make villains out of Buffalo State officials. "All of us," he said are in a tough position. "Our immigration system is broken. we are faced with unprecedented challenges."
He understands the angst on the part of the community, but added, "there is a line that the community cannot cross with actions that are harmful based on bias and prejudice. We cannot forget that these are real human beings."
On Monday, the migrants from Buffalo State were moved to a church and an area hotel with the goal of getting them settled into apartments within the next month.
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