Activists Push to Force ICE Out of Buffalo's Delaware North Building

In downtown Buffalo, activists have organized the Evict ICE campaign to stop the federal immigration agency’s field office from remaining in the 12-story Delaware North Building after its lease expires in March 2027. The effort focuses on Uniland Development, owned by the Montante family, and Delaware North, owned by the Jacobs family, both of which profit from leasing space to ICE and other DHS components. Volunteers have conducted canvassing, weekly demonstrations, and direct actions such as a sit-in that resulted in eight disorderly-conduct arrests.

The group cites Deportation Data Project figures showing 237 detainees, including 18 children, held on the building’s seventh floor between February 2025 and March 2026, often beyond short-term limits. The campaign’s tactics include billboards, petitions with over 6,000 signatures, and appeals to local institutions like Canisius University to pressure the Montante family. While officials have not responded, the movement claims to have influenced the cancellation of a DHS job fair and the end of free downtown parking for ICE staff.