Somebody Is Getting Rich Off The Migrant Invasion – It Just Ain’t You

Follow the money. That adage works as well today as it ever has. If you want to know what the migrant invasion is all about take a look at who is getting rich and who is paying the bills.

New York City is awash in migrants. The hotels where they are being stashed are full. Families bused in from the border are living on the sidewalks. So, New York has hired a company to take care of the problem.

DocGo is a mobile medical services company. It used to make money doing Covid testing and the like. Now it moves migrants out of New York City, dumps them in towns upstate, and funnels them into illegal, low-paying jobs.

New York City awarded DocGo a $432 million no-bid contract for the work. In doing so it bypassed the city comptroller who is charged with overseeing city finances. There was no discussion about this expenditure.

DocGo then apparently fed migrants in New York City lies about lucrative jobs waiting for them upstate, loaded them up in buses, and drove them out to cities all across New York. DocGo also reportedly gave the migrants fake work and residency permits, some printed on phony New York City letterhead. The false documents were rejected when the migrants then took them to the local Department of Motor Vehicles to secure identification documents.

None of this was coordinated with the cities where the migrants were dumped. Officials in those jurisdictions said they weren’t even given the names of the individuals transported to their locales.

The town supervisor for the Albany suburb of Colonie sued New York City after two busloads of migrants arrived at the SureStay Hotel in that town in May and then simply remained warehoused there beyond the 28 consecutive days allowed by law.  DocGo seemed unfazed. It sent three more busloads of migrants to the same hotel in July.

At the SureStay, security guards working for the hotel are reported to have ordered migrants not to talk to the press. At least one individual was threatened with physical violence because he was talking too much.

There is nothing unique about what is happening in Colonie. The movement of migrants out of New York City is occurring on such a vast scale that jurisdictions all over the state are declaring states of emergency.  At the Super 8 motel in Schenectady as of a couple of weeks ago, there were 238 migrants housed. That is one motel in one town.

The declaration of emergency for Schenectady says that the county Department of Social Services (DSS) houses 150-250 individuals in need each night, primarily in local hotels. That is in addition to the individuals DocGo is bringing in.

A total of 34 New York counties have issued states of emergency related to migration since April. New York City has responded by suing 30 such jurisdictions in an attempt to secure judicial orders forcing these counties to accept the migrants DocGo is pumping upstate.

None of the individuals being transported upstate by DocGo have the legal right to work in the United States. They are all technically waiting for hearings and claim to be asylum seekers. It seems very strange then that many if not most of these individuals are apparently finding their way immediately into the labor market.

Speaking about this issue recently, Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said, "The very first thing that two of the asylum seekers asked me was, 'Can we work? We really want to work.'" In a subsequent statement, the city of Albany said, “We have learned through our communications with New York City and their vendor, DocGo, that approximately 90% of asylum seekers in Albany County are employed in less than a week.”

DocGo responded to a request for comment regarding the employment of the migrants and how the hiring was accomplished by email that saying in part "DocGo has a long-standing relationship with New York City to support a number of high priority public health programs and provide both mobile health and medical transportation services. DocGo's social workers and on-site caseworkers connect asylees with local resources and Community Based Organizations that assist asylees with job placement, skills training and ESL courses. DocGo does not hire or directly place any asylees."

The U.S. Department of Labor has acknowledged that it is unable to stop migrants from finding jobs. It has also announced that in response to this issue, it intends to begin to hold informational workshops educating the migrants on their employment rights and assisting them in avoiding dangerous or exploitative situations. Federal regulations make it very clear that no work authorization can be issued until six months after the filing of an asylum application.

Anecdotal evidence suggests strongly that the migrants being pumped into upstate New York are finding work in the “informal” labor market. They are cleaning hotel rooms, working in restaurants, and doing other menial, low-paying jobs. Despite DocGo claims, there are persistent reports that DocGo personnel are placing the migrants into these positions.

In response to an inquiry from a local radio station, DocGo said only that its “social workers and on-site caseworkers connect asylees with local resources and community-based organizations that assist asylees with job placement, skills training and ESL courses. DocGo does not hire or directly place any asylees.”

So, let’s take stock. Hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money are being spent to pump huge numbers of illegal workers into cities and towns all over New York State. DocGo is rolling in money as a result. Hotel owners are raking in the cash. Local businesses no longer have to deal with American citizens who might expect to be paid a living wage and to work under safe conditions. They can hire desperate illegals one step above slaves to work for a lot less.

People are making money hand over fist from what amounts to a modern-day slave trade. Everywhere you look somebody is getting rich off this crisis.

It just ain’t you.