BUFFALO, N.Y. -- With Jericho Road Community Health Center's Vive shelter at capacity for months, SUNY Buffalo State University said it agreed to allow several dozen asylum-seeker clients to stay in campus dorms from May to early August.
However, New York state Assemblymember Jon Rivera said Jericho Road expected that term to last until the end of the month and was in conversations to extend it through February. Instead, he said they were given a week's notice to be out by Aug. 21.
"There are people that look at this scenario with such inhumane eyes and what they're not seeing is parents with young children that have traveled many, many miles and suffered a great deal," Rivera said.
The university said it continues to support Jericho Road's mission but the migrant and refugee service organization believes the decision was influenced by prejudice in the community. This month, two migrants allegedly committed sexual assaults in separate incidents.
However, Rivera, who represents the district and is an alum, said the administration told him there has been no violence or safety issues, not only with this group, but when a separate population of refugees lived on campus a few years ago.
"We've proven that that space is fine. Truthfully, that was a standalone building in which folks were going to be separate from the rest of the campus population. Frankly, the enrollment of the university is not what it once was, certainly not when I was there, so it's not as though there was an issue of space," he said.
On Monday evening, Buffalo State said it was pleased to learn Jericho Road had placed all 44 residents. Those clients are not part of the same program coordinated by contractor DocGo to bus migrants from New York City to upstate.
"There has been good charitable people that have opened their doors. There's a church with a rectory that's going to be housing some folks from what I understand and they're just making due," Rivera said.
Tuesday is move-in day for new students on campus.