New York county refusing migrants after sexual assault allegations
Republican candidate for Erie County executive Chrissy Casilio speaks out against migrants being sent to her community after the county decides to being refusing resettlements.
New York's Erie County has put the brakes on accepting asylum seekers after a second migrant from New York City Mayor Eric Adams' resettlement program was charged with sexual assault in the community.
At a press conference Saturday, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, a Democrat, announced no more asylum seekers would be sent from the Big Apple until security measures could improve.
But Republican Chrissy Casilio, a local business owner hoping to unseat Poloncarz, told "Jesse Watters Primetime" the "horse is out of the barn" as the community battles the migrant influx.
NYC MIGRANT CRISIS COULD HIT $12 BILLION; MAYOR ADAMS URGES FEDERAL EMERGENCY DECLARATION
UNITED STATES -August 9: Mayor Adams flanked by his Deputy Mayors is pictured during press conference at City Hall Rotunda Wednesday, August 09, 2023. During the presser the Mayor warned that will necessitate more "across the board" cuts to city services as New York City is on track to spend as much as $12 billion on managing the local migrant crisis by mid-2025. (Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Daily News via Getty Images)
"It's going to be a lot harder cleaning up the crisis that he caused by not having the spine to stand up to New York state and the federal government," Casilio said Wednesday.
"We are paying for all of this, and we are now paying for the failed leadership of our radical left."
The decision comes as two asylum seekers face sex crime charges in the county, one in the alleged assault of a Buffalo hotel worker, and another with allegedly raping a woman in front of a three-year-old child.
"Months ago, when this first started, I had a press conference where I said that we needed to call a state of emergency and that there needed to be a pause to give us time, to be able to plan accordingly to what might happen to Erie County," Casilio told guest host Judge Jeanine Pirro.
Poloncarz declared such an order "illegal" and "morally repugnant" in June.
NYC MAYOR ADAMS SAYS MIGRANT CRISIS THREATENS TO ‘DECIMATE’ CITY AS HE APPEALS FOR FEDERAL HELP
Asylum seekers Kindu Jeancy and Jesus Guzman-Bermudez are facing sex crime charges in Erie County, New York. (Erie County District Attorney's Office)
"[He] called me morally repugnant for wanting to put a pause and asking for transparency and asking for a plan. But you know what's really repugnant, Judge? Is a woman getting raped in front of her three-year-old daughter. What's morally repugnant is a hotel worker getting sexually assaulted," Casilio responded.
The mother of three added the migrant crisis is also burdening the school system.
"We're taking 66 kids and putting them into the system where we don't have the resources to take care of our own kids, let alone take proper care of the migrant children," she said.
"Not only are we having to pay for all of these interpreters, what makes it even worse is that our schools here in Erie County are starting in about two weeks. We have almost no preparation time to get staffing to accommodate all those different languages… we have up to a 90-day wait for early intervention services. We're still trying to get our own kids caught up from COVID. And now we've brought in an influx of migrant children and no plan of how we can accommodate them properly."
Migrants await registration outside of the Roosevelt Hotel in midtown Manhattan on Tuesday, August 1, 2023. The asylum seekers are forced to wait on the streets, since the hotel is currently at capacity. (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital )
About 540 migrants were sent to Erie County to ease the burden on NYC, The New York Post reported.
New York Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul agreed to place National Guard members at each of the county's hotels housing asylum seekers to act as a "stabilizing presence."
Fox News Digital reached out to Adams and Hochul for comment Sunday.
"Since asylum seekers first arrived in New York, we have been providing significant humanitarian aid as New York City works to meet their legal obligation to provide shelter. We will continue our efforts to provide financial support, personnel and equipment, and continued advocacy for federal assistance," Hochul said.
Fox News' Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
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