Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The arrival of thousands of migrants per-day across the Southern border of the United States continues to be a problem for many communities across the nation.
New York City continues to be burdened by the large numbers of migrants arriving daily. Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday renewed his appeal to the federal government to help the city avert a budgetary crisis as expenses mount — now projected at $12.2 billion by the end of next year — because of the influx of people seeking temporary care and shelter in the city.
Related
Currently in Erie County, around 550-600 migrants have been bussed in from New York City and are being housed across select municipalities, including Cheektowaga in hotels around the airport. They're being housed with the help of local agencies like Jericho Road, Journey's End, Catholic Charities, the International Institute and Jewish Family Services.
With the current migrant influx continuing to rise substantially, Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) feels the federal government needs to do more to step up and do it's part to help alleviate those affected communities nationwide.
"We are communicating with the Justice Department to get funding so that these communities, whether it's New York City or Western New York, do not have to absorb the financial burden of what is a consequence of Congress not acting in nearly three decades toward comprehensive immigration reform, and a pathway to legal citizenship," said Rep. Higgins while in Buffalo on Thursday. "There are about 550 asylum seekers in Western New York, migrants. They are, by and large, eager to work. The other thing that we can do to help with this situation is expedite their eligibility for work. We have a labor shortage, people want to work, and they want to work. So why delay their ability to do just that? So the funding is very, very important for communities like Western New York, New York City as well, but wherever this issue exists throughout the entire country."
LISTEN LIVE TO WBEN:
The United States has not seen any form of comprehensive immigration reform over the past 27 years. Nearly two months ago when the first migrants were reported to be heading for Erie County, Higgins believed issues with immigration and a lack of reform have become problems that were created by Congress because of a "lack of guts".
During a visit to Rochester on Thursday, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the federal government is trying to get New York State more money, as well as working to get more migrants working permits. He also says the real solution at hand is to come up with bipartisan immigration reform that deals with the problems the country is currently facing.
While Higgins does not know when any sort of sensible, bipartisan immigration reform can be agreed upon at the federal level, he feels locally elected leaders in Washington have an obligation to ensure organizations that assist migrants resettle into the community have the necessary resources to successfully do so.
"These asylum seekers, whether it's 21st century, 20th century, 19th century, they're not violent. In many cases, they're fleeing violence, and they're looking for a piece of the American dream. That's been the great promise of America," Higgins said. "All of our stories, regardless of where we originated from, is an exodus story. We come over mountains, we cross deserts, we cross seas, we overcome institutional barriers.
"People have to be fed, they have to be clothed, they have to have their health care needs taken care of. That's what these organizations are extraordinarily effective at doing in a very humane way."
Higgins adds it is the federal government that should bear most, if not all of the responsibility for the costs incurred by cities and communities throughout New York and throughout the country. He says the fight will also continue for funding to ensure the agencies can assist migrants with respect to health care, housing, and also with education, especially with the 2023-24 school year starting in a few weeks.
"I think it's particularly a problem in Cheektowaga, where hotels are disproportionately located. That's where these asylum seekers are living, so that's a school district that's going to need some help," Higgins pointed out. "The federal government has to acknowledge its responsibility to help these communities. So yes, these are letters that we will send to the administration seeking assistance to the local communities, to the state itself. I'm confident we will be successful."
The other matter locally that has been scrutinized this week is the matter of public safety with a couple of incidents pertaining to migrants locally in Erie County.
It was last week Friday when a migrant from Venezuela was arrested and charged in an alleged rape of another migrant he knew in their Cheektowaga hotel room in front of their three-year-old child.
Then on Wednesday, the Erie County Department of Health confirmed a case of tuberculosis in a migrant being housed in a hotel in the City of Buffalo.
Related
Although Higgins sees the rape case and a few other reported arrests in the area for petty larceny as isolated incidences among migrants, he feels, without a doubt, the vetting process should include much closer scrutiny when it comes knowing the health status of some individuals.
"You travel abroad, you travel to some countries, you have to be vaccinated for certain things that you want to avoid that are endemic in those countries," Higgins said. "A vetting process, a sane, rational immigration policy would include all of that to ensure that people coming in here are not going to be a potential health threat to others."
More from Higgins is available in the player below:
Related
