Congressman Nick Langworthy meets with Buffalo ICE agents amid nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Federal Republican leaders are praising President Donald Trump and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after hundreds of arrests were made across the country, including three in Western New York.

The arrests are raising concerns among residents who want to know who’s at risk of being arrested and deported.

During a news conference Tuesday, Republican Congressman Nick Langworthy was adamant that ICE agents are only going after criminals and suspected terrorists. He said they pose a national security risk and need to be removed from the country.

“It has been just one week to the day since President Trump was sworn into office, and he is following through on his commitment to secure our borders and to conduct deportations, starting with the most dangerous criminal illegals who pose a threat to our safety and to national security,” Langworthy said.

The congressman met with ICE agents on Tuesday in Buffalo. After the meeting, Langworthy told reporters that, “Buffalo ICE is getting the job done and I support them wholeheartedly.”

Questions were raised at a news conference asking if migrant farmers should be concerned. Langworthy said ICE is not targeting them because they are part of a federal visa program and are vetted.

Langworthy also denied rumors of ICE agents raiding local schools.

“They are not going into schools,” he said. “This is a mission to apprehend convicted criminals and those people that are thought to be creating a national security risk to the country.”

Langworthy criticized Governor Kathy Hochul and New York’s Green Light Law, which was signed in 2019 and carved out a pathway for undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses.

“I heard it loud and clear today in my meeting with Buffalo ICE,” he said. “The biggest barrier to the enforcement of this mission is New York’s Green Light Law. It needs to be repealed.”

“Governor Hochul is committed to public safety, and is committed to secure borders and safe streets,” a spokesperson for Hochul said in a statement to WIVB News 4. “She’s pushed Congress to fix our broken immigration system and called on the White House to surge resources to New York’s northern border. Under existing law, New York has the power to communicate with federal immigration authorities when a crime has been committed and we regularly collaborate with our partners in Border Patrol and other federal agencies.” 

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Sarah Minkewicz is an Emmy-nominated reporter and Buffalo native who has been a part of the News 4 team since 2019. Follow Sarah on Twitter @SarahMinkewicz and click here to see more of her work.

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