What is the NYC Office of Asylum Seeker Operations, whose leader got a visit from the feds?
Federal law enforcement officials served a subpoena to the director of the city's Office of Asylum Seeker Operations on Friday, adding yet another twist to the ongoing investigations into Mayor Eric Adams' administration.
The building where the director's parents live also got a visit from law enforcement, according to surveillance footage provided to Gothamist.
The office Molly Schaeffer leads was launched in March 2023 as part of Mayor Eric Adams' response to the influx of migrants to the city — and as part of the administration's broader plan, " The Road Forward: A Blueprint to Address New York City's Response to the Asylum Seeker Crisis ." When the office was established, Adams said it would be focused on the city's ongoing efforts to provide "resettlement and legal services" along with a new "24/7 arrival center for asylum seekers."
By its own description, the office is supposed to coordinate and manage all services for asylum seekers, including lobbying state and federal offices for additional support and working with external partners in the business and nonprofit sectors. Some skeptics have argued that it is duplicative, as the city already had an Office of Immigrant Affairs.
"You already have a mayor's office of immigration, so why do you need to create another office?" said Power Malu, the executive director of Artists, Athletes, Activists. The grassroots organization has been helping new arrivals navigate the city's changing rules for those seeking shelter and support since August 2022.
More than 215,000 asylum seekers have come through the city since the spring of 2022, driving more than $5.6 billion in public spending, according to data the city released earlier this month. The Office of Asylum Seeker Operations has been running what it calls navigation sites in 13 locations around the city. The sites are supposed to provide people with access to a host of support services, including healthcare, legal services and enrollment in city schools.
However, the office has faced scrutiny from the City Council, which has sought to provide oversight of how the city is supporting migrants as well as immigrant advocates and grassroots organizations working to support people's needs on the ground.
Malu, from Artists, Athletes, Activists, said that in his dealings with Schaeffer, "she has been used as a buffer between our grassroots [organization] and the administration whenever we searched for answers or solutions to problems."
As an example, Malu cited problems migrants face receiving their mail , especially when they are forced to move into new shelters after running up against the city's 30- and 60-day limits. He said his organization has offered the city solutions to these and other challenges facing this community, but that their input is often ignored and rejected.
"The answer is always, 'We're looking into it. We're working on a solution,' and nothing ever comes of it," Malu said.
In April, Schaeffer testified before the City Council that migrants forced to reapply for shelter had received cots in 24 hours. The same day, Gothamist reported that the city had in fact left many migrants stranded on a waiting list for new shelter accommodations for more than a week, violating a settlement agreement it had reached with the Legal Aid Society and the Coalition for the Homeless.
Schaeffer has been open to hearing from opponents of new migrant shelters. She appeared alongside the mayor at a private dinner meeting with a group of neighbors in Clinton Hill, in Brooklyn, where Adams said his goal was to reduce the number of migrants staying at a 3,000-bed shelter in the neighborhood.
According to the mayor, Schaeffer also works on a team that includes Timothy Pearson, a close friend of Adams who was put in charge of managing emergency contracts for migrant shelters. Pearson, whose phone was reportedly seized by federal agents earlier this month, has been embroiled in several controversies — including a lawsuit alleging that he sought to enrich himself through the no-bid contract process.
Schaeffer joined City Hall during the last year of Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration and stayed into Adams' tenure. Before that, she was a policy adviser in the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. She also worked as a policy manager and special assistant in the city School Chancellor's office.
It is unclear the specific nature of the subpoena she received from federal prosecutors on Friday. It comes as several high-ranking members of the Adams administration face state and federal investigations into the conduct of operations in his 2021 campaign and City Hall.
Asked whether Schaeffer would remain in her role or take a leave during the ongoing investigation, mayoral spokesman Fabien Levy said, "Why would she take a leave?"
