Buffalo's Common Council went after President Trump Tuesday, attacking him for his comments about four freshmen women in Congress.The resolution unanimously approved by the Council condemns the comments of the president about the four women of color who call themselves "The Squad."
The president told the women to go back to their home countries if they don't like the United States. Three of the four were born here and the fourth came to the states as a refugee from Somalia and became a naturalized citizen.
The resolution also calls on legislative bodies across the county and the state to "stand together in unity against racism from the president."
"We, as a body, and every body, every legislative body in Erie County, the State of New York and across this country should do the same," said Majority Leader David Rivera. "We should not legitimize those types of comments. It sows hatred and fear in people. It appeals to people's worst basic instincts."
Rivera said immigrants made this city and this region, with generations of them coming here from different countries to create this community and continue to recreate it.
"When people from Western New York's Italian-Americans came here to today, where you have Somalis, Burmese, Bhutanese, every nationality that comes here, that drives and helps drive our economy," he said. "We should not normalize that kind of behavior and less from the president of the United States."
He went as far as to say the president's comments could put the four representatives at risk.
"It is scary that the president of the United States could put people at harm by making those kinds of comments," Rivera said. "So today, I ask every legislative body in Erie County and across the state to speak on behalf of all those immigrants and refugees. The United States is a country of immigrants."
