Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - As the Donald Trump administration in Washington cracks down on illegal immigration nationwide, local leaders in the nation's capital are working with federal officials in Western New York to ensure they have the resources necessary to do their jobs.
Congressman Nick Langworthy (R, NY-23) was in Buffalo on Tuesday to meet with local U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials, and looked into what they need in order to prioritize the safety of American citizens.
"I believe in this mission wholeheartedly, I support Buffalo ICE, and I support the rule of law and keeping our streets safer. I think everyone should have that mission," said Langworthy following Tuesday's meeting. "When you have a dangerous criminal element that has come into this country illegally, it needs to be eliminated. That's the Buffalo ICE office's job. That is what our our law enforcement officers should be there to do, is to protect all of our families and theirs. And they're going to need more resources to undo four years of an invasion of this country, and that's exactly what it is. It's an invasion of this country that had willful neglect by the Biden administration. They allowed this invasion to happen, and it's going to take a hell of a long time to finish the mission. But getting the most dangerous element handled as swiftly as possible is what they're dedicated to."
Just in the week that President Trump has taken office at the White House, he has moved active duty troops to the border, signed off on targeted raids of violent criminals, enhanced vetting for visa applications, and other actions geared toward cracking down on illegal immigration.
In Western New York, Buffalo ICE officials made three arrests this past Friday in raids that were part of a nationwide sweep that saw 538 arrests made.
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Langworthy feels these actions are common sense policies that not only prioritize public safety, but will get the border security crisis under control.
"It is deeply disturbing, if not unsurprising, watching the hand-wringing by elitists in the media and the Hollywood elite, and you have to ask yourself the simple question, 'Do you stand with public safety? Do you stand with the rule of law? American sovereignty, stopping the scourge of fentanyl in our streets, in our communities. Or do you stand with the cartels who have made billions exploiting the weaknesses at our borders?'" Langworthy asked. "We have allowed them to grow into a behemoth, smuggling drugs and human trafficking operations, and it takes tremendous resources to undo the damage that we've seen in the last four years, and to truly make our country secure once again. It defies common sense that as a nation, we allowed this to happen."
Langworthy believes there have been upwards of 10 million people who have illegally crossed the border, but has seen estimates it could be as many as 20 million people. In New York City alone, Langworthy says there's an estimated 759,000 illegal immigrants residing there.
It is New York's sanctuary policies that Langworthy feels have been a magnet for illegal immigrants to take advantage of. That's why he recently sent a letter, along with four Republican colleagues in the New York delegation, urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to repeal the provisions of the Green Light Law.
"Gov. Hochul and legislative Democrats, they dedicated more than $2 billion in state spending on illegal migrants. What's even worse is that the sanctuary policies of New York are gravely jeopardizing safety," Langworthy said. "Of the more than 700,000 illegals in New York, an estimated 58,000 of them are either convicted felons or facing criminal charges in our state. And thanks to the Green Light Law, the law that Kathy Hochul enacted with support of the majorities in the State Legislature to give driver's licenses to those that come to this country illegally, those individuals are shielded from detection by federal law enforcement like Buffalo ICE. And the cooperation from the DMV and local law enforcement is prevented with federal law enforcement officials. They will not allow federal law enforcement to access the database of license plates. It's unconscionable.
"Gov. Hochul is putting the community in danger by not allowing federal officials to run New York State DMV databases. Period, end of story. Local law enforcement officials cannot coordinate, cannot work together with federal partners without facing the charges of felonies. Why would you put people that swear an oath to uphold and protect the public in that danger? That they would lose their livelihood if they cooperate with another level of government. We would never suggest that state troopers can't communicate with the Lancaster Police Department. Cooperation between levels of law enforcement is common sense, as we all fight for the common welfare of hard-working taxpayers. This law is incredibly dangerous and it is downright idiotic, and Gov. Hochul has put every New York citizen and law enforcement officer at risk with this asinine policy."
Langworthy noted that during his meeting with Buffalo ICE, he learned that most of the national security risk apprehensions have been on the Northern border, not the Southern border.
"That's something that we all, as people here in Western New York, need to keep in mind," he said.
"As a border state, we have seen up to a 1,000% increase in illegal crossings in some portions of the Northern border. This law poses a huge risk to our national security. To tell you just how hypocritical New York's Green Light Law is in shielding that database from our federal law enforcement official, New York State government readily cooperates with the Canadian government, a different nation's federal government, to share that same database. If someone goes and tries to cross into Canada and has been convicted of a DUI here in New York State, Canadian officials can prevent their entry, as is their policy. So you have a state government cooperating with a foreign government, but not our own federal government. That's why I've signed on to legislation, and working hard with Congresswoman Claudia Tenney to discuss federal funding for New York State, unless it cleans its act up and gets this dangerous provision off of the books."
Buffalo ICE has jurisdiction in 48 New York counties, and in New York alone, officials are aware of 50,000 criminals. Langworthy says it’s going to be a long process to sort through all this, but it is geared toward eliminating a national security risk, thus making the public safe for all law-abiding citizens.
Langworthy adds Buffalo ICE officials have not been conducting any "school raids", saying nothing of the sort is happening. He says the focus of ICE officials has been finding the "worst of the worst" and getting them off the streets.