A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) career expo scheduled to begin Tuesday at the Buffalo Convention Center was canceled after Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz urged its management to remove U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from participation.
Poloncarz, a Democrat, stated that the publicly owned convention center should not host recruitment efforts inconsistent with the county's values as a "welcoming community." He learned of the expo on Wednesday and subsequently contacted the convention center's management corporation.
Convention center President and CEO Patrick Kaler confirmed that management initially requested DHS 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.
The cancellation drew criticism from Republican Erie County Legislator Lindsay Lorigo, who accused Poloncarz of overstepping his authority. "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," Lorigo told Fox News Digital. She also expressed concern for vendors who had already invested in setting up for the expo.
DHS defended ICE in a statement, rejecting the criticism as political and stating, "Our agents are focused on protecting the American people — not entertaining performative outrage." A DHS spokesperson added, "To most Americans, our brave ICE law enforcement are heroes. Eighty percent of Americans support arresting and deporting criminal illegal aliens from American neighborhoods."
The expo was described by USAJOBS as the department's premier large-scale hiring event, open to the public and various demographic groups, with recruiting planned across fields such as cybersecurity, intelligence, law enforcement, and immigration services. In July, the Buffalo-Cheektowaga area had an unemployment rate of 4.4%, with 25,100 people unemployed.
A May Harvard CAPS/Harris online survey indicated that 80% of respondents supported deporting immigrants who are in the country illegally and have committed crimes.