BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — National Guard members assigned to Buffalo-area hotels housing migrants awaiting asylum hearings are accused in a lawsuit of sexually exploiting the migrants, who described feeling especially vulnerable while living in unclean rooms, far from family and with little access to the outside.
The lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan names the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs and at least six New York National Guard members, along with several employees of the company DocGo, the contractor hired by New York City to oversee the migrants’ needs.
It was brought by six female and one male asylum seeker and a dozen current and former employees of a subcontractor, Platinum Community Care, who reported the alleged behavior.
“Jane Doe, who had journeyed through jungles with her children, evaded sexual traffickers in Mexico, and crossed rivers, suddenly found herself in a snow-covered rural property in America (where she was totally isolated) with her children, facing pressure from a member of the NY National Guard for sex,” according to the lawsuit, describing one Venezuelan woman’s experience.
National Guard members and DocGo staff were seen “dancing intimately and romantically kissing guests,” and guardsmen sometimes brought migrants to a nearby hotel where they were staying, the lawsuit said.
The guests were (and remain) particularly vulnerable, given their uncertain immigration status, lack of mobility, need of basic supplies, and other needs. Even a trip to a Walmart was considered a great gift,” according to the lawsuit.
The guests were (and remain) particularly vulnerable, given their uncertain immigration status, lack of mobility, need of basic supplies, and other needs. Even a trip to a Walmart was considered a great gift,” according to the lawsuit.
The asylum seekers were among an overflow of migrants who were transferred from New York City after arriving there in 2023. They described being deceived into traveling to Buffalo, about eight hours away by bus, after being told it was much closer, only to be housed in a run-down hotel with foul odors, exposed electrical outlets and damaged drywall.
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