In a complaint, National Guard personnel stationed at motels in the Buffalo region that house migrants awaiting asylum hearings are accused of sexually abusing the migrants. The migrants claim that staying in filthy rooms, isolated from family, and with limited access to the outside world made them feel particularly vulnerable.
The lawsuit was filed in The U.S. District Court in Manhattan and names the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs, at least six New York National Guard members, and numerous employees of DocGo, the contractor hired by New York City to handle the needs of the migrant population.
Twelve current and former employees of a subcontractor, Platinum Community Care, who reported the alleged behavior, along with six female and one male asylum seeker, brought the case.
Dancing And Romantically Kissing Guests
The lawsuit claimed that National Guard personnel and DocGo employees were observed “dancing intimately and romantically kissing guests” and that the guards occasionally took the migrants to a neighboring hotel where they were lodging.