Buffalo’s West Side has long welcomed immigrants from around the world, and in recent years has become home to newcomers from countries like Somalia, Burma, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
But this week, multiple sightings of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on one neighborhood block has raised concern among residents.
Tori Kuper has lived on the block since 2017.
"This is a neighborhood that is very close. Everyone knows everyone. Our kids all play together and are always outside together on the block," she said.
Over several days this week, she and other neighbors noticed unfamiliar vehicles idling on the street.
"I looked into one of the SUVs, and I saw a uniformed ICE agent. I've been hearing about a lot of ICE activity around the U.S., around Buffalo. I had not seen it in person, and so I was pretty alarmed when I saw one agent. And then very quickly, saw four or five. That was on Saturday."
Kuper said that not everyone inside the vehicles appeared to be wearing uniforms.
"As soon as they saw us, noticing them, they began to kind of camouflage themselves, or block their windows, or move their vehicles," Kuper added. "Some would recline their seats all the way back, so when we looked in the window, we couldn't see anyone, which was very disconcerting, how much they were kind of trying to hide from us."
BTPM NPR has viewed pictures appearing to show this happening. It’s put Kuper and her neighbors on high alert. Now, she said, people are sitting on their porches more than usual, and spending more time in the communal garden, to keep an eye on the neighborhood comings and goings.
"I have a child, and we want them to all all play outside and have a childhood. It's summer - school just ended, and now we feel so unsafe in our own community," she said.
"It's summer - school just ended, and now we feel so unsafe in our own community," - Tori Kuper, West Side resident.
Jennifer Connor lives on the same block. She also happens to be the Executive Director of Justice for Migrant Families, an advocacy group for migrants detained at federal facilities in the area. She believes ICE is waiting for her neighbor – an asylum seeker from Iran, here with his child who is in grade school.
"Even though I am the director of an immigrant rights organization, and even though this is extremely close to me, and I am seeing these attacks across the board, this is so personal. This is one of our kids, and we cannot see a family that has already been through so much be harmed and tortured further in this way," Connor said.
Connor introduced BTPM NPR to the man she believes ICE agents are waiting for. We have agreed not to use his or his child’s names because of concerns it may negatively impact their open asylum case.
First we meet his housemate — a U.S. citizen who wishes to remain anonymous for the same reason. He tells BTPM NPR that ICE knocked on their door Wednesday morning asking after his friend.
"And they said, ‘Well, he's either got to come talk to us right now, or he's got to come down to the office in an hour.’ And so at that point, we contacted the lawyer. I spoke with them," he said. "As soon as they said he had representation, and it was raining, they sort of like moseyed on."
"We cannot see a family that has already been through so much be harmed and tortured further in this way," - Jennifer Connor, Justice for Migrant Families.
The visit comes as the U.S Department of Homeland Security announced the arrests of 11 Iranian nationals last week -- including one in Buffalo -- just days after the U.S bombed Iranian nuclear sites. All of those arrested had a criminal history, an order of removal against them, or failed to abide by the legal requirements of their immigration status.
But the man on the West Side has no criminal history and has followed the legal process to seek asylum in the U.S., according to his legal representative, who has chosen not to be named to protect her client’s identity. She says the man is now awaiting a court date to determine whether he qualifies to remain in the country.
Speaking through an interpreter, the man describes how the presence of ICE has affected both him and his child.
"Lots of stress," he said. "Like I tell myself that that God will help us and everything will be okay."
According to his legal representative, her client has been in the country for about two years. She told BTPM NPR that in Iran, he was involved in organized groups that spoke out against the government’s human rights abuses — a government the U.S. State Department calls a “authoritarian theocratic republic.” As a result, he was imprisoned for six months, during which he reports he was tortured by the government.
"I mean, in Iran, if someone wants to tell the truth and wants to protect their rights, usually they get in trouble," he explained. "They torture me. They got my job from me, and I run away. I left the country. If I return back to Iran, they either execute me or they put me in jail for 30 years."
"If I return back to Iran, they either execute me or they put me in jail for 30 years."
He’s still awaiting a work permit, but said his dream job is to be a truck driver. He also has hopes for his child to be raised here.
"I want [them] to be someone for [them]self here," he said.
The neighbors alerted Buffalo Common Councilmember, David Rivera, to the situation, Monday. He represents the Niagara District, where this block is located. He recommends that concerned immigrants or refugees confer with an attorney.
"We want them. They've contributed to to this country as well and to our economy. They work and they're productive. We're not talking about people that are here illegally committing crimes. We're talking about good folks that have left their countries because of persecution and for opportunities for their families," Rivera said.
He added that he has informed the area's "federal delegation" about the situation.
His son, Jon Rivera, is also a lawmaker representing the area in the state assembly. In an email, he said we are “witnessing the weaponization of immigration policy against people who pose absolutely no threat to public safety.” He demanded transparency from law enforcement agencies as to why these individuals are being targeted.
In response to this story, Buffalo’s ICE office said in an email: “For reasons of operational security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement does not discuss law enforcement tactics or confirm current, ongoing or future operations.”
In the meantime, residents watch and wait on their porches. And as for their Iranian neighbor - has this experience changed his view of America?
"No not at all. America is still land of dreams and hopes."
