New York's Erie County axes DHS job fair over ICE role, drawing backlash: 'Totally inappropriate'

A Buffalo-area Republican accused Democratic Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz of overstepping his authority after the Buffalo Convention Center canceled a two-day Department of Homeland Security career expo set to begin Tuesday, because officials objected to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's participation and warned of possible protests.

"The county executive has completely surpassed his power and authority. This was totally inappropriate for him to call on the management of the convention center to cancel this event," Republican Erie County Legislator Lindsay Lorigo said in an interview with Fox News Digital.

Lorigo said she understood discussions about the event were continuing and hoped the center would reverse its decision. She said vendors had invested time and local labor into the expo’s setup.

The Buffalo Convention Center canceled a two-day DHS career expo after local officials objected to ICE’s participation. (Reuters)

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"I have had discussions with vendors that are already set up there," Lorigo said. "They’re concerned that they’re going to have to close down their business because they can’t afford the hundreds of thousands of dollars, but now they don’t know who’s going to pay the bill."

"I think he is blowing the safety concern out of the water," she added.

DHS sharply defended ICE in a statement to Fox News Digital on Friday and rejected criticism as political.

"Our agents are focused on protecting the American people — not entertaining performative outrage. Where is the outrage for Angel families who lost a loved one to illegal alien crime?" a DHS spokesperson said. "To most Americans, our brave ICE law enforcement are heroes. 80% of Americans support arresting and deporting criminal illegal aliens from American neighborhoods."

Erie County Legislator Lindsay Lorigo accused County Executive Mark Poloncarz of overstepping his authority by urging the expo’s cancellation. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

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A May Harvard CAPS/Harris online survey found 80% supported deporting immigrants who are in the country illegally and committed crimes.

USAJOBS described the expo as the department’s premier large-scale hiring event. It was open to the public, veterans, military spouses, people with disabilities and recent graduates, with recruiting planned across cybersecurity, intelligence, law enforcement, finance, human resources, immigration services, logistics and transportation security.

New York Labor Department data released Tuesday showed 25,100 people were unemployed in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga area in July. Its 4.4% jobless rate was up from 4.3% a year earlier.

DHS defended ICE as Lorigo warned that local vendors could face major costs from the last-minute cancellation. (Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty)

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In a joint statement released by Poloncarz’s office Thursday, the county executive said Erie County owns the convention center but does not manage its bookings or daily operations. Poloncarz said he learned of the expo Wednesday and urged its management corporation to cancel the DHS contract.

"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," Poloncarz said.

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Convention center President and CEO Patrick Kaler said management first asked DHS to hold the event without ICE.

"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," Kaler said.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Poloncarz for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.