An upstate New York county is demanding New York City Mayor Eric Adams stop sending illegal migrants to the area after two alleged sexual assaults involving migrants.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said he “demanded Mayor Adams pause all further transportation of asylum seekers to our community until such time as we can resolve all security issues.”
“He agreed and informed me they will not send any additional persons to Erie County at this time. We also discussed the need for a new and improved security plan,” Poloncarz said.
On Tuesday, authorities announced that a migrant from Venezuela was charged with raping a woman in front of a 3-year-old child. The alleged incident occurred on Wednesday, after the suspect had come to Erie County through New York City, which was reportedly paying for his upstate hotel room.
On Friday just three days after the first migrant was charged, a second migrant from the Democratic Republic of the Congo was arrested for sexual assault. The second migrant was charged with sex abuse and unlawful imprisonment after he allegedly sexually assaulted a woman who was working to provide services to the migrants.
“The victim is a 27-year-old female from Buffalo who was working at the hotel as employed by Platinum Community Care, one of the agencies providing services to the asylum seekers,” Cheektowaga Police Department Chief Brian Gould said.
The police chief requested that the hotel stop being used for migrant housing. He also asked for police overtime funding to increase the law enforcement presence near the hotels.
“The hotel is located in a residential neighborhood and is causing not only safety concerns to nearby residents, but also quality-of-life issues,” the police chief said.
Both of the migrants charged with sexual assault had arrived in the town of Cheektowaga just east of Buffalo before they were arrested.
So far, about 540 migrants have been transported to Erie County.
Governor Kathy Hochul’s office announced on Saturday that Erie County will receive more New York National Guard personnel and assets to assist with the migrants. More than 1,800 National Guard members are already helping with the migrant crisis across the state, the governor’s office said.
“Sexual assault is a horrific crime,” a spokesperson for Hochul said in a statement on the incidents. “The Governor is grateful to Erie County law enforcement for their work in this matter and has directed State personnel to provide all necessary support.”
Meanwhile, New York City is approaching a breaking point as it tries to metabolize the tens of thousands of illegal migrants who have streamed into the city over the past year.
Since April of last year, more than 90,000 migrants have arrived in New York City. As of this month, about 55,000 are still being housed on the city’s dime, causing New York’s homeless shelters to burst at the seams.
The city has already poured $1.2 billion into helping the migrants since last summer.
The crisis appears to have flustered Adams, who has blamed everyone from Texas, the White House, and New York’s state government for sticking the city with the emergency.
Post a Comment