Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - "It was eye-opening."
Erie County Legislator Frank Todaro described a public forum in Cheektowaga on Tuesday night in which residents voiced concerns over the county's handling of migrants, especially those being housed in the town.
"You had a room full of people who are passionate about where they live
and they let it all out," said Todaro during an appearance on WBEN on Wednesday. "It validated my reasons for the job that we're supposed to do as elected officials."
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As the controversy over the resettling of migrants continues in Western New York, Todaro insisted this is a manmade crisis.
"People are fed up with the process. The police and fire departments are being utilized on an almost daily basis just for the migrant issue alone. It's putting a strain on emergency services." He added that the community has had enough and wants it to stop right now.
Cheektowaga Police Chief Brian Gould has shared four pages of police reports with Todaro, directly related to the migrants, from calls about panhandling to trespassing, and shoplifting.
"When you are quarantining people in a room, which is what they're doing, more or less, they have no structure and nothing to do. Of course trouble is going to begin," he said.
Todaro points out the the local community does not hold a negative opinion of the migrants themselves. He said residents are compassionate and empathetic toward the people that have been placed here. "But," he noted, "the problem is how they were dropped into a community and expected to be taken care of."
He and other local lawmakers firmly believe that the federal government is to blame for the situation.
"The Biden administration has allowed open borders. Everyone is coming in and inundating large cities. They are so overrun that the migrants are now going to secondary sanctuary cities." He said This is going to continue to happen to smaller communities.
Immigration attorney Rosanna Berardi discussed the migrant situation recently and said that it can take years for asylum cases to be heard.
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WBEN asked Todaro if the plan is to keep migrants housed in hotels, possibly for years?
"That's not realistic," he said. "Rosanna is correct. I've been briefed on this from many judges and attorneys and it can take years. A majority will be denied asylum and will have to go back to the country where they originated from. So why are we doing this?," he asked. "We're putting a strain on taxpayers for multiple years, at a cost of millions and millions of dollars."