New York Official Who Touted Vetting Of Migrants Now Closing Off County To Them After Two Alleged Sexual Assaults

A Democratic official in New York who previously touted the vetting of migrants is now attempting to stop them from coming to his county after two alleged sexual assaults, according to a recent statement from his office.

Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz is telling Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams to stop busing migrants until security is ensured, according to a recent statement. Cheektowaga Police Chief Brian Gould announced Saturday the arrest of a migrant, 22, at a local hotel who allegedly sexually assaulted a woman, 27, from Buffalo who was working at the hotel.

The migrant was charged with sexual abuse and unlawful imprisonment, Gould said, adding that the hotel should no longer be used for migrants. Another recent incident involved a migrant from Venezuela allegedly raping a woman in front of a 3-year-old child, the New York Posted reported.

“I demanded that 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,” Poloncarz said in a statement Saturday.

“We also discussed the need for a new and improved security plan, especially considering DocGo, the third party hired by New York City to run the hotel operations, may have interfered with this investigation. Mayor Adams agreed that we need to address all security concerns with the hotels. We have already begun discussing ways to increase security and reduce any threat to our community,” Poloncarz said.

To address the security concerns, Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul will also deploy the National Guard at each of the hotels housing migrants, Poloncarz said.

Poloncarz previously emphasized the vetting of migrants in a June video posted to Twitter.

“The asylum seekers who recently arrived from NYC are legally in this country and have been vetted by federal authorities,” Poloncarz said in the tweet.

“I know there’s been unfortunately in the last 24 hours a lot of racist and bigoted statements on social media and other places. But, as I have noted in the past, unless your ancestors are Native Americans, everyone came from somewhere else. These are asylum seekers who are legally in the country and we will assist them through the various mechanisms that exist,” Poloncarz added.

Poloncarz is now expressing doubts about New York City’s vetting of the migrants coming to his county.

“We were assured of the safety, security and proper screening by New York City through DocGo. Clearly, that hasn’t been done,” Poloncarz said during Saturday’s news conference.