Chautauqua County church leader, politicians paint different pictures of immigration concerns

Luke Fodor, rector at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Jamestown, has heard rumblings of U.S.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducting raids in Chautauqua County this week. That’s escalated anxiety within his group of parishioners, several of whom hail from Spanish-speaking nations or from countries in Africa such as the Congo. Fodor said they’re not coming to church or, in some cases, leaving their homes, because they do not know what can be done safely and who might be vulnerable.



“The tactics we’re seeing seem to create emotional anguish in communities,” Fodor said Wednesday morning. “I don’t think people feel safe.” “Undue stress” has been experienced by resettled immigrants who attend his church and those assisted by its humanitarian program New Neighbors Coalition of Jamestown , he said.

It is an effect of the “intimidation strategy” trumpeted by county and state officials who on Tuesday praised ICE’s area raids focused on rooting out undocumented criminals and ensuring public safety, the rector added. New Neighbors, a volunteer network in Jamestown that works with refugees and asylum seekers, speaks out with St. Luke's Episcopal Church against the fear created by recent ICE activity and the anti-immigrant rhetoric of government officials.

Pictured is an English for Speakers of Other Languages class offered by New Neighbors. Rep. Nick Langworthy met with media twice Tuesday after receiving updates by ICE officials in Buffalo and Chautauqua County.

The congressman did not share information about immigration-related arrests locally. Both Langworthy’s spokesperson and the Dunkirk police – who acknowledged a Homeland Security operation but said the local department had “limited involvement” – directed requests to ICE officials. “For operational security reasons and for the safety of our law enforcement personnel, ICE does not confirm or discuss ongoing operations,” an ICE spokesperson told The Buffalo News.

“The agency publicly announces the results of national/local operations via the ICE.gov website when appropriate.” Langworthy praised the “targeted deportation” efforts President Trump was leading across the country geared toward people with a criminal history who lack U.

S. citizenship. The White House on X on Wednesday spotlighted ICE Buffalo’s arrest of Oscar Villatoro-Lazo, described as a Salvadoran national who had been convicted of murder and sentenced to 19 years to life in prison.

Rep. Nick Langworthy praised the “targeted deportation” efforts President Trump was leading across the country geared toward people with a criminal history who lack U.S.

citizenship. ICE’s government account reported that on Tuesday 1,016 arrests were made nationwide and 814 detainers lodged , which refers to holding individuals in custody who were arrested for a crime and have probable cause to be non-citizens. The Buffalo Field Office covers 48 counties, Langworthy said.

Langworthy repeatedly emphasized ICE officials have not entered any places previously considered safe havens – such as schools, churches and hospitals. Trump last week ended the Biden administration’s guidance that protected people gathered in those areas. “This is a case-by-case basis looking for known criminals,” said Langworthy, who was joined by Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel and Sheriff James Quattrone at the Mayville news conference.

Langworthy and Wendel urged the end of New York’s sanctuary status and a repeal of the Green Light Law , which limits the personal information law enforcement agencies can request from departments of motor vehicles. The national crackdown on illegal immigration – coupled with ICE’s approach – has created an environment of fear even for those who have completed or are amid the several processes toward U.S.

citizenship, said Fodor, whose church is in the process of adding a service for Spanish speakers. “We’re not harboring criminals – they have followed the process,” the rector said. “Hyperbolic, overwrought conversations are meant to scare people.

” Fodor was troubled that the government officials did not share any details about the violent criminals they had caught or attempted to catch. Langworthy instead spoke about Laken Riley, the 22-year-old college student in Georgia who was killed last year by an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela. Broad depictions of immigrants as criminals is damaging to newcomers in Western New York, Fodor said.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Buffalo on Thursday arrested two men convicted of sex crimes, as well as a Canadian man convicted of endangering the welfare of a child.

“They make a few isolated cases and use them as the prism how you view everyone else,” he said. The New Americans, Fodor said, have contributed to society in Jamestown, helping stabilize a shrinking population and bolstering the workforce. “We’re not seeing mass violence and dangerous people that are wandering about,” he said.

Momina Di Blasio, program manager for New Neighbors, cautioned against labeling all undocumented immigrants as bad people. “It’s a very broken immigration system – many people within that system may or may not fall into the chasm of undocumented because of how broken our system is,” she said. Some are undocumented due to “not being able to access legal services, not understanding due process or not being allowed due process,” she continued.

“Lumping it together – that the undocumented should leave and the documented should stay – is not nuanced and not empathetic,” Di Blasio said. “In my personal opinion, it is not what I believe the American dream, and Americans’ free rhetoric should be about.” Fodor and St.

Luke’s helped bring New Neighbors to life, but emphasized it has a humanitarian and not a ministry focus. It has spawned a network of about 25 regular volunteers who work in concert with Journey’s End Refugee Services, which has grown to four staff members at its Jamestown branch, to help settle the influx of New Americans who speak predominantly Spanish, Swahili and Arabic, Di Blasio said. “The compassion and dedication of The New Neighbors Coalition volunteers in Jamestown are a shining example of how when we open our hearts and lend a hand, we create a future where hope thrives and humanity prevails,” wrote Journey’s End Chief Executive Officer Pamela Bos Kefi in a statement.

“Even with the devastating impacts of the indefinite suspension of the U.S. Refugee Admissions program, and the sudden funding cuts, we are committed to standing with refugees who have arrived in our communities and will continue to support, uplift, and stand by them as they build new lives in our community.

” New Neighbors helps newcomers with transportation, employment efforts and navigating challenges such as getting a driver’s license or securing a green card. Despite their familiarity with immigration processes, New Neighbors is trying to grasp the flurry of executive orders relating to immigration in the last month. They don’t want to spread misinformation, but they want newcomers to feel prepared if they are approached by ICE.

For asylum seekers, that means carrying documentation with them at all times. Many of the New Americans’ questions right now are simply difficult for Di Blasio and the volunteers to answer. “It’s hard for them to hear that we don’t know,” she said, “and we want to be able to have all the answers.

” Ben Tsujimoto can be reached at [email protected] , at (716) 849-6927 or on Twitter at @Tsuj10. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.

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