Morning News Brief
Written by John Vazquez on August 17, 2023
New York Attorney General Letitia James is calling for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to take immediate action to grant work permits for migrants who are new to the United States. James joins a coalition of 19 attorneys general, who have sent a letter to Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas urging the federal government to resolve the delays and red tape that are preventing migrants from finding work and making it more difficult for states to provide sufficient resources to support migrants.
James says businesses are experiencing increasing demand for workers in key industries like food service, retail, transportation, and health care, and some of the migrants are immediately eligible for permits. But processing delays have left some migrants waiting 10 months or more for initial working papers and some that have secured working papers have lost jobs while waiting for a renewal.
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National Guard members are now at three Erie County hotels that are housing migrants bused from New York City, and it’s expected that National Guard members will be in Monroe County on Friday. The Erie and Monroe County executives requested assistance from the National Guard after two sexual assault incidents involving migrants occurred in Cheektowaga.
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Genesee County Sheriffs have caught up to a Batavia man who fled from them in July. Akeem Gibson, 33, Batavia, allegedly fled from Sheriff’s deputies on July 30 in a motor vehicle, but was arrested Tuesday in the town of Batavia. Gibson also faces reckless endangerment charges.
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There are additional lawsuits connected to the Tops mass shooting. Two civil lawsuits were announced Wednesday, one from a man who lost his mother in the shooting, and the other on behalf of 16 shoppers and store employees who were at the store during the shooting. The defendants include the websites Reddit and Google along with its YouTube service, the store where the gun used was purchased, and the shooter’s parents.
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A sinkhole swallowed up a car and two people in Irondequoit. It happened on St. Paul Boulevard Wednesday morning. Officials believe that a storm drain failed during heavy rains that went through the region. The two people in the car were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
