Of the more than 500 asylum seekers who arrived in Western New York over the summer, Jericho Road Director of Asylum Seeker Programs Matt Tice said the vast majority remain in three local hotels.

"They have taken steps within their legal cases,” Tice said. “Unfortunately, when we talk about immigration cases, typically, it's not even days or weeks. It's months or sometimes years.”

However, he said there has been progress, including the creation of his own position to oversee new programs. He said late last year, caseworkers helped roughly 170 people apply for Temporary Protected Status to expedite their ability to find work and housing. Those federal decisions are starting to come in.

At the same time, they continue to work on the long-term asylum requests and provide the people staying at the hotels with any other necessary assistance. 

"There's a lot of work, especially when you have so many people to do that, but we've had some amazing partners to support us with working on the legal steps that are necessary for individuals and families staying local," Tice said.

In August, Erie County, New York City and contractor DocGo agreed to freeze the relocation of large groups of migrants to the hotels. However, the state launched a $25 million Migrant Relocation Assistance Program, or MRAP, which Tice said roughly 30 families have utilized to voluntarily move to the region, who have generally already received work authorization or are close.

"These are not folks coming from the hotels," Tice said. “They are almost exclusively people who have come directly from New York City."

He said the goal is to place 200 migrant families in long-term housing within the community and Jericho Road has started recruiting from the pool of people living in the hotels. 

"I am really optimistic that a lot of the individuals and families who are here will qualify and then we can help get them over," Tice said.

The program mirrors refugee resettlement in the state. Tice is hopeful, rather than continuing to house people in hotels, MRAP be the model moving forward.