Erie County, N.Y., Executive Mark C. Poloncarz reported that the county will no longer accept immigrants from New York City after a sexual assault occurred at a Buffalo-area hotel that houses asylum seekers. This was the second case of abuse in two weeks.

"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 wrote in a statement.

"Yesterday afternoon, I was advised of a serious incident involving an asylum seeker being housed at a Cheektowaga hotel. As was described by Cheektowaga Police Chief Brian Gould, a suspect is now in custody. I thank Chief Gould and his team with the Cheektowaga Police Department for their quick response to this matter, as well as the team from Erie County District Attorney John Flynn’s Office for their work with the investigation," he added.

"There is no way to make [it] sustainable"

The Democrat maintained that community safety is his priority, calling on the mayor of New York to establish a new security strategy to deal with asylum seekers. "Unfortunately there is no way to make the program as presently run sustainable. Two serious, violent crimes in two weeks are two too many. Our refugee agencies did their best to provide support and assistance, but our community's trust and good faith have been betrayed," Poloncarz maintained.

Finally, he asserted that "Erie County, the town of Cheektowaga and the state cannot solve what is essentially a federal issue. The Biden Administration and the United States Congress must act on this and truly implement comprehensive immigration reform."