Congressman Nick Langworthy met with the local offices of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, or ICE, for briefings on the rollout of Trump’s new immigration and deportation policies on Tuesday.
“You know, the detention center in Batavia, it's filling up fast. I mean, there's a lack of bed space," Langworthy said.
After meeting with ICE officials, Langworthy spoke to the press about his support for the agency’s ongoing efforts to deport undocumented people.
“When you have a dangerous criminal element that has come into this country illegally, it needs to be eliminated," Langworthy said. "That's the Buffalo ICE office’s job.”
Langworthy announced his support for the Red Light Act, which would withhold highway safety funding until states like New York end their Green Light Laws. New York's Green Light Law allows people without social security numbers to get driver licenses and prevents DMV data from being shared broadly with immigration enforcement.
“I heard it loud and clear today in my meeting with Buffalo ICE. The biggest barrier to the enforcement of this mission is New York's Green Light Law. It needs to be repealed," Langworthy said. "Governor Hochul is putting the community in danger by not allowing federal officials to run New York State DMV databases period, end of story.”
Dr. Shyam Sriram, the program director and assistant professor of political science at Canisius University, is a local expert on immigration.
"They are using immigration as a dog whistle. They are making the idea that if we let people in, somehow we know, which we don't know, but allegedly we know, that people who are coming over are criminals, all of them. And this is a long trope, like this goes back hundreds of years of blaming immigrants for crime, for blaming immigrants for disease, for blaming immigrants for a decline in morality," Dr. Sriram said. "This is called a moral panic, and what President Trump is doing, he's an expert at it, unfortunately, is turning immigration into a moral panic."
He’s concerned about these proposed policy changes, especially because of the language being used and the harmful stereotype linking crime and immigration creates.
“I mean, when you engage in these kind of language, you're trying to point fingers and say that these people are bad and we are good," Dr. Sriram said. "So again, I understand the purpose of the laws. Look, I do... I want to be clear: I do think there should be greater cooperation between DMVs and the federal government. I want a more organized system, okay? I think that is important. I want law enforcement to cooperate between the local, state and federal level, but not this way.”
Dr. Sriram says policy that is based on withholding important safety funds to enact change isn’t effective. He argues good policy would be bringing together all sides on the issue and deciding policy that everyone can agree to implement. He adds he is already concerned with the moves President Trump has made in withholding funding to programs that support refugees.
“I feel that the Trump administration has suspended all of this federal assistance because they're essentially punishing states and people that they don't like certain policies. But you don't suddenly, abruptly cut off funding and then say, 'Oh, you have to fix your things, and then we'll give you more money,'" Dr. Sriram said.
Dr. Sriram explains that while some of these changes seem targeted, they are causing a lot of stress and concern for a lot of families, no matter their status. According to the Pew Research Center, 14.3 percent of the US population are immigrants.
Dr. Sriram understands that anxiety on a personal level, as an American citizen born in Illinois to immigrant parents.
“The reality is, is that this is my country, but I've started to have a nightmare. I've had it now two or three times in the last week, where I am detained by ICE and asked to prove my citizenship. I shouldn't have to be afraid of living in my own country," Dr. Sriram said.
