Erie County’s Buffalo Convention Center cancelled a two-day Department of Homeland Security recruitment expo after objecting to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s involvement and citing possible protests. The decision has prompted criticism from Republican county legislator Lindsay Lorigo, who said County Executive Mark Poloncarz had exceeded his authority and that the cancellation could harm vendors already preparing for the event.

Poloncarz said the county owns, but does not run, the convention centre and urged its management to end the DHS contract because ICE recruitment conflicted with the area’s stated values as a welcoming community. The centre’s management said it first asked DHS to proceed without ICE, but cancelled when that was not possible; the event was intended to recruit for roles including cybersecurity, intelligence, law enforcement and immigration services, while Buffalo-Cheektowaga’s July unemployment rate was 4.4%.