Officials of a county in Western New York demanded that the state stop sending migrants after two separate accusations of sexual assault by migrants.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said that the county’s “trust and good faith has been betrayed” after two incidents at Buffalo-area hotels where migrants were being relocated.
“Two serious violent crimes are alleged to have occurred in the past two weeks and they are two too many,” he added.
The first incident involved a migrant from Venezuela who was accused of raping his partner at a Cheektowaga hotel in front of their 3-year-old child on Aug. 2. Jesus Guzman-Bermudez, 26, was charged with first-degree rape, kidnapping, and other charges.
Poloncarz, a Democrat, initially downplayed the incident by saying that the 570 migrants being housed in Erie County had resulted in only one serious crime and two minor ones.
“For generations, America has welcomed migrants seeking safety and a better life to our shores,” said Poloncarz at the time. “Any asylum-seeker who shatters the sacred trust placed in them by violating the law, including against a fellow asylum seeker, as in this matter, should be swiftly prosecuted and deported after they are punished for their crimes.”
A second incident unfolded on Aug. 11 when a 22-year-old man from the Democratic Republic of the Congo allegedly forced himself upon a worker at a second Cheektowaga hotel near the Buffalo airport.
Poloncarz changed his tune and called on the governor to send the National Guard to help provide security at places where migrants are being housed. He also asked for migrants to be removed from hotels.
Mayor Eric Adams of New York City has called on other states and other communities in New York state to help bear the burden of caring for the migrants who have been shipped to the city from Texas and other places.
“We are appreciative of all our partners across the state, especially in Erie County, who are stepping up and doing their part to meet the needs of asylum seekers,” read a statement in part from a representative for Adams.
Here’s a news report about the incidents:
New York county refuses NYC migrants after sex assault accusation | Morning in Americawww.youtube.com
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