Attorney general scrutinizing company handling N.Y. migrants

ALBANY — Attorney General Letitia James' office informed DocGo on Monday that it is investigating the for-profit company’s running of shelters for migrants upstate and warned the company to cease any activities limiting the free movement and speech of the migrants in its care.

The attorney general’s Civil Rights Bureau sent a letter sent to DocGo’s attorneys detailing “serious concerns” it has regarding potential violations of state and federal laws in its handling of the job of finding shelter for thousands of migrants and ensuring they are receiving proper health care and processing.

The letter, independently obtained by the Times Union following an initial news report in the New York Times, outlines a series of concerns about the work of DocGo, which won a $432 million contract with New York City for handling the migrant sheltering services. 

The attorney general’s office detailed allegations for the company about reports of migrants receiving misleading information when they were bused to hotels upstate, including inaccurate details about employment opportunities and their enrollment in health care plans for which they are not eligible.

There have also been issues with migrants ability to freely leave their hotels, the letter states. The attorney general’s office asserts that there were isolated incidents of DocGo’s contracted security officers discouraging or blocking them from speaking with the media and “other actions that may jeopardize migrants' ability to obtain asylum.” 

In the letter to DocGo’s general counsel, Ely D. Tendler, the attorney general’s office alleges the company may have violated state or federal laws that prohibit “discrimination and retaliation for engaging in protected activity.” The office requested DocGo’s response to the allegations by Sept. 13. A spokesman for the attorney general confirmed the office opened an investigation into DocGo.

The attorney general’s office also instructed the company to change course on “any efforts to impose limitations on migrants' movement or restrictions on migrants' ability to speak or interact with others” within five business days.

DocGo is also to provide the attorney general’s office with a copy of its contract with New York City.

The city mayor’s office has declined to expeditiously release the contract publicly, instead requesting reporters file a Freedom of Information Law request for it. The office of the city’s comptroller recently obtained the contract, which was executed in May, but has yet to finish processing it  —  which a spokeswoman said must be completed before the office will release the contract under a FOIL request. 

State officials have told the Times Union they does not have access to the DocGo contract, despite public dollars subsidizing the contract; the state’s fiscal plan allocates spending $1.5 billion to assist with the city’s migrant sheltering response.

DocGo officials acknowledged they received the letter from the attorney general’s office. A company spokeswoman characterized the letter as requesting “basic information to understand the scope of our services and how we ensure compliance with applicable law.” 

“Since the launch of our program, we’ve worked with government partners to ensure we are delivering excellent, compassionate care to asylum seekers,” according to an unnamed company spokeswoman. “DocGo’s asylee sites have received many visits from multiple city and state oversight agencies since our contract began, and we’ve always cooperated in a fully transparent manner.”

The attorney general’s foray into the situation comes as there has been increased scrutiny of DocGo. Migrants and advocates working with them in the Capital Region have reported what they view as lackluster health care for those staying at the hotels, which function as shelters.