Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Amid a sea of air-tight security from a phalanx of local and federal police agencies, would-be job seekers lined up along Fuhrmann Boulevard hoping to land one of several federal positions being offered by federal agencies.
The two-day job fair became something of a local political landmine when Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz denied the federal Department of Homeland Security - and other U.S. agencies - from holding the job fair at the Buffalo Convention Center.
Poloncarz made his declaration on Aug. 27 - five days before the job fair was set to begin. The county executive said the potential of civil unrest coupled with security issues and his concerns about DHS and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions led to his decision.
That led to a political firestorm but also left DHS scrambling to find a new location - which turned out to be the U.S. Coast Guard's Buffalo station at the northern end of Fuhrmann Boulevard.
The job fair runs from 9 a.m.-to-5 p.m. Sept. 1 and Sept. 2. It marked the first local federal job fair in recent memory.
One job seeker, Ian who traveled from Albany, came because of the chance to work for a federal agency.
"A career opportunity with the feds, with good pay and benefits, is very attractive to me," Ian said.
Job seekers were told not to speak to the media.
As they entered the job fair, K-9 dogs sniffed back packs while law enforcement officers asked for identification and verification codes for the job interviews.
Among the agencies policing the job fair including the Coast Guard, Erie County Sheriff's Office, Buffalo Police, Homeland Security, ICE and the U.S. Army.
Besides DHS and ICE openings, there were jobs to be had with the Secret Service, FBI, TSA and Coast Guard - among other federal agencies.
Before the 9 a.m. opening, the line of job seekers stretched more than one mile down Fuhrmann Boulevard. Some were heavily into President Trump's MAGA campaign, others were everyday people looking for a good paying job..
Not all were from the Buffalo area.
Like Ian, some came from Albany; others from Vermont and Pennsylvannia.
And, as they entered Fuhrmann Boulevard, they were greeted by protestors led by the Western New York Peace Center.
ICE and DHS were the focus of the protest.
"Our game plan is not to disrupt but to voice our freedom of speech and tell people we really don't need anymore ICE agents," said Stephanie Mejia, Western New York Peace Center executive director.
The protestors were peaceful and spent the morning chanting anti-ICE slogans.
"We are just voicing our opinion," Mejia said "We are not stopping anyone and not threatening anyone."
