One migrant was arrested and charged with multiple felonies, accused of brutally raping a woman in front of her three-year-old chid.
Another migrant was accused of sexually assaulting a hotel worker that housed migrants bused in from New York City.
School districts were swamped with so many migrants their respective budgets increased by hundreds of thousands of dollars.
These are just some of the serious issues facing the Town of Cheektowaga, New York, population 86,181, smaller than Smithtown but bigger than Southampton.
“It was barbaric. This is what happens in third world countries,” said Erie County Legislator Frank Todaro, whose district represents Cheektowaga where migrants were bused.
This mostly blue collar suburb directly east of Buffalo, politically speaking, is a bellwether town, with former Governor George Pataki famously saying “As Cheektowaga goes, so does the rest of New York.”
On May 20th, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz called critics of his municipality being a sanctuary county and welcoming migrants with open arms “morally repugnant.”
Wally Carriero was one of those Cheektowaga residents who simply had questions about these new migrants who showed up in his neighborhood.
“I was grilling in my backyard when five migrants in winter coats, in the summer, asked us for a pharmacy. We were called racists and not being inclusive. We just wanted questions answered. Who is paying for them and most important, who is vetting them?” asked Carriero, who also leads the Dick Urban Community Association (DUCA) that promotes neighborhoods in Cheektowaga.
Shortly after this encounter, the Erie County Health Department notified Cheektowaga residents of a tuberculosis outbreak amongst migrants who were brought there.
Crime and health issues weren’t the only concerns.
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| Migrants are being sent to cities across the United States of America. File Photo |
New York State is now promising to pick up 50% of the new cost of educating those kids. With the total additional cost pegged at $415,000, that still leaves Maryvale Schools searching for ways to find $207,500. Additional costs are related to hiring more bilingual and specialized teachers.
“School Superintendents were duped. They were told Albany would offer a 100% reimbursement. Now it’s only 50%. We can’t afford it,” added Todaro.
At the time Suffolk County leaders took the opposite approach, passing an emergency order in May of 2022, formally objecting to New York City’s busing of migrants to municipalities outside of the Big Apple. Suffolk County also promised to pursue legal action to stop New York City from shipping migrants to Suffolk County.
Similar measures in Erie County were put in place but long after migrants were accused of committing serious crimes and children were already enrolled in schools. The National Guard was called in to protect Cheektowaga taxpayers, and New York Mayor Eric Adams agreed to stop sending migrants to this Buffalo suburb.
As for Suffolk County elected officials, those on the other side of the state have words of advice when it comes to a migrant policy here on Long Island:
“Be sure there’s transparency from those shipping migrants there, if they choose to do so,” added Carrierio.
“Don’t do it. Put up a wall. It would be cheaper,” concluded Legislator Todaro.