On Thursday, Washington DC Mayor, Muriel Bowser, declared a public emergency in response to the asylum seekers arriving in buses from Texas and Arizona, as reported by Reuters. They were sent to DC by the Republican governors from the US-Mexican border states.
Mayor Bowser, a Democrat, created a new Office of Migrant Services dedicated to supporting the transported migrants, and $10 million will be allocated to launch the office. Bower said, “The city will seek reimbursement from the federal government.”
This comes after the Pentagon had previously rejected the Mayor’s requests for National Guard troops to help with the migrants’ needs. After the second request was rejected, Mayor Bowser said on Twitter, “We are going to move forward with our planning to ensure that when people are coming through DC on their way to their final destination that we have a humane setting for them.”
In a news conference, Mayor Bowser stated the office’s task is to deal with the DC response to migrants seeking asylum.
Texas governor Greg Abbott started busing migrants to the nation’s capitol in protest of Biden’s immigration policies. Since April, the Texas governor has sent over 7,600 migrants to Washington DC in an attempt to force Democrats to take responsibility for border crossers. He also bussed migrants to New York City and Chicago.
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey has also transported over 1,500 migrants. The two governors started their busing program in the spring, which caught DC off-guard, even though most migrants eventually left for other parts of the US.
In her news conference, Bowser said, “We’re not a border town. What we’re doing today is a new normal for us. We have to have an infrastructure that allows us to deal with the border crisis here now that has visited us in Washington, DC.”
The Office of Migrant Services is set up within the Department of Human Services. The city also announced that temporary shelters will be constructed for the migrants. The mayor said they would provide the migrants with basic needs such as urgent medical care, meals, and transportation.
The city is preparing for more border crossings that are expected to increase in the fall, and anticipate that Texas and Arizona will send hundreds of buses to the nation’s capitol. Mayor Bowser also emphasized on Twitter that the city will continue to work with the federal government and local organizations to set up systems that will help manage the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
New York City is also dealing with the crisis, and Chicago has been affected as well. Will other “sanctuary cities” be targeted?