Cheektowaga, N.Y. (WBEN) - A deal was reached in State Supreme Court in Erie County between the Town of Cheektowaga and hotel operators who have been housing migrants. The deal calls for all migrants to leave by the end of 2024.
Cheektowaga Town Supervisor Diane Benczkowski says, while she's excited about the deal, it's not perfect. "With this agreement, at least the town will have control of the situation without the risks of judges and go into court with appeals and a longer appeals process and an unknown outcome to that scenario," says Benczkowski.
READ: Settlement Deal
Benzckowski says the first step is migrants at the Dingens Street hotel will be moved to hotels on Genesee Street. She says that should be done by Friday. By the end of 2024, all migrants will be out of the hotels on Genesee. There's also a limit on single male migrants. "That was what some of the issues that we've had ... in the past with a few major domestic violence and assault issues on women. So the board was concerned about that, so we made that a priority for us to be able to take families and not single men," says Benczkowski.
Not everyone is thrilled with the agreement. "I think that they're just playing games with us," says Councilmember Michael Jasinski in a WBEN interview. "I think the people in our town have some genuine concerns about safety, and they're up in arms that we have a temporary restraining order, and they're still housing these people in the hotels."
Jasinski feels citizens in his town living legally are being treated as second class citizens. "These illegal migrants have better cell phones, better food, you know, they're just getting better services. And to me and the people who live in the town of Cheektowaga feel that they have no rights," contends Jasinski.
Jasinski believes the town is unable to enforce the laws on the books. "It's bringing a lot of fears out of (residents)," says Jasinski. "Our way of life is being imposed on and we're having to foot the bill. Women are being raped and parents are worried about their children going trick or treating now in these areas over by these hotels and there's a genuine fear they could be harassed or mugged or who knows what'll happen."
Jasinski says this could have been prevented had Erie County declared a state of emergency keeping migrants from coming here.