Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz and Buffalo Convention Center President and CEO Patrick Kaler today issued a joint statement regarding a scheduled career expo at the Buffalo Convention Center, to be held September 1-2 by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”).
Poloncarz statement: “Late yesterday afternoon, I was surprised and deeply troubled to learn that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) had scheduled a career expo at the Buffalo Convention Center for September 1-2 that includes the recruitment of federal immigration enforcement personnel, among other agencies.
While the County of Erie owns the Buffalo Convention Center building, the county does not manage daily operations or event booking. Decades ago, the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center Management Corporation (“BNCCMC”) was created to manage the facility, including contracting bookings for all events.
BNCCMC entered into the contract with DHS. As stated, I was not made aware of this event until late yesterday, and I have since learned members of the BNCCMC board were not made aware of it until yesterday, as well.
Erie County has a long and proud history of welcoming immigrants and refugees from around the world. They are our neighbors, coworkers, small business owners and friends, and they have made our community stronger. The Buffalo Convention Center is a publicly owned community asset, and I do not believe it should be used to support recruitment efforts that are inconsistent with the values we have repeatedly expressed as a welcoming community.
I am also concerned that holding this event could result in significant protests and civil unrest, as has happened elsewhere, requiring an increased law enforcement presence without the benefit of a coordinated response plan between city and county officials.
For that reason, I strongly encouraged BNCCMC leadership to cancel the contract and inform DHS that the Buffalo Convention Center will not serve as the host site for this event and that is exactly what has occurred.”
Kaler statement: “Due to a number of concerns, including the safety and security of the Buffalo Convention Center workforce and the general public as well as the anticipated presence of protestersand counterprotesters, we have made the decision to cancel the Department of Homeland Security’s Career Expo next week at the Buffalo Convention Center.
We made a request of the Department of Homeland Security to move forward with an event that did not include Immigration and Customs Enforcement. When it became clear that was not possible, we made the decision to cancel as we feel it’s in the best interests of our community at this time.”
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