New York City paid $432 million to transport migrants to upstate towns, says report

In a contentious move that has sparked controversy and legal challenges, New York City reportedly paid a mobile medical services company a staggering $432 million to transport thousands of migrants to upstate towns against their wishes, as revealed in a New York Times investigation published on Sunday.

The no-bid contract awarded to DocGo, which was not subjected to the approval of the city comptroller, raised eyebrows as the company shifted its focus from offering on-the-go Covid-19 testing and vaccination to transporting asylum seekers to small towns and cities that lacked the necessary resources to handle the sudden influx.

Migrants were lured with promises of comfortable life

Migrants interviewed claimed they were enticed to venture upstate with promises of comfortable accommodations and abundant employment opportunities. However, upon arrival, they found themselves in a distressing situation, provided with counterfeit work and residency permits, some bearing phony New York City letterheads. Subsequently, their attempts to use these documents to secure identification at the local Department of Motor Vehicles were fruitless.

Adding to the complexity of the situation, cities like Albany, New York's capital, were left in the dark, as officials were not provided with the migrants' names or any information that could have facilitated connecting them to essential immigration assistance. DocGo purportedly cited medical patient privacy laws as the reason for its refusal to share the required details.

The town supervisor for Colonie, a suburb of Albany, has filed a lawsuit against New York City after two busloads of migrants arrived at the SureStay Hotel in May. The hotel faced legal repercussions for housing the illegal tenants beyond the 28-day limit allowed by law. Despite this legal action, just last weekend, the hotel reportedly accepted three more busloads of migrants from New York City. 

Why is New York city busing migrants upstate?

It's possible that the decision to transport migrants to upstate towns was influenced by political motivations. Local officials might have sought to alleviate the burden of providing for the migrants within the city limits and distribute the responsibility to other areas of the state. The city's decision could also have been driven by financial considerations. Perhaps they found it more cost-effective to pay a mobile medical services company to transport migrants to other towns rather than bear the responsibility of caring for them within city facilities.