Local people outraged by President Trump's order barring some immigrants and refugees from entering the country staged protests nationwide Saturday. They rallied at airports, including Buffalo Niagara International Airport. About 150 protesters held signs in support of welcoming refugees to our community.
Danielle Rizzo, a senior counsel at the law firm of Harris Beach, tells WBFO News the city is likely to see a reduction in the number of people coming here from other countries.
"The overall number of refugees accepted nationally will go down, so presumably that will reduce the number of refugees who are re-settled in Buffalo as well," Rizzo said.
Local activist Erin Heaney posted photos of the Buffalo airport rally on Twitter. Earlier in the week on the Capitol Pressroom on WBFO, Heaney said more and more people are mobilizing to protest Trump administration policies.
"I think we're going see non-compliance and civil disobedience at a scale I have never seen in my lifetime," Heaney said. "We're going to have to do local organizing. We have to become skilled at waging local fights on issues that matter to us."
Heaney is currently the interim director of the group "Showing Up for Racial Justice."
Others are also speaking out against Trump. Governor Cuomo released a statement last night saying he is directing officials in his administration to jointly explore legal options to assist anyone detained at New York airports.
UB President Satish Tripathi issued a statement last night, saying the University at Buffalo is a "welcoming campus" for students from around the world and is "committed to remaining so."
Saturday night, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz met with local religious leaders at the Muslim Community Center in Amherst. Poloncarz said he stands with anyone who -- regardless of their religion -- "wants to live the American Dream."
WBFO's Porsha Ari assisted with this story.