Asylum seeker shares his experience living in WNY
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Roughly 550 asylum seekers brought here from New York City last year remain in local hotels, awaiting the next steps in their applications for asylum.
One of them is 30-year-old Argenis Torres. He came to the United States from Venezuela and is one of the few asylum seekers in Western New York who is currently able to work.
“Good,” he said. “Really good.”
That’s how Torres describes his experience in Western New York so far.
“My daily life, I go to the gym, I go to work, and I go to class,” he said. “Because of the program I’m in they give us English classes.”
Torres spoke with us with the help of interpreter Catharine Grainge, the director of advocacy for Jericho Road Community Health Center. He says he arrived at the U.S. border last April and requested asylum. He has since applied for asylum with the help of Jericho Road and Journey’s End Refugee Services.
“They were able to help me fill out the application and file it,” he said.
Only a few dozen of the asylum seekers in Western New York have received work authorization so far, based on the specific way they crossed the border. Torres is one of them.
“So, I work at a grocery store and thankfully I’m able to maintain my lifestyle right now and sort of plan for the future with the money that I’m making,” he said.
That includes sending some back home to family. Torres says he doesn’t pay attention to the current American debate about migrants. But he does want people to know one key thing about people like him who are seeking asylum.
“I think a lot of people think migrants are here looking for a better life. But I’ve found personally is that people are fleeing their homes, fleeing governments that don’t protect them,” said Torres. “What I’ve noticed really is that migrants are looking for help that their own governments weren’t able to provide them.”
If Torres is granted asylum, he hopes to bring his family here, and stay in Buffalo.
“It’s the city that opened their doors to me so I would like to experience things here, grow here, and do a lot of things here,” he said.
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