Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a public emergency Thursday in response to the wave of migrants being bused to the city from the Mexican border with Texas and Arizona.
District Council member Brianne Nadeau blamed the governors of Texas and Arizona for creating a “crisis” in the city. She said it has turned the national capital into a border town.
Bowser said she is creating a Migrant Services Office to better facilitate the needs of people arriving in Washington.
The mayor’s request for National Guard support to address the humanitarian crisis was twice denied by the Department of Defense last month. The White House pointed the city to resources at the Federal Emergency Management Agency and others.
Bowser said she was “very disappointed” by the denial of her request. “The crisis at the border is not lessening, it’s getting worse,” she said.
The district is allocating $10 million to set up the new office and will seek reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Bowser fired at Republican governors who are coordinating the busing of migrants into cities, and called on the federal government to address what she calls a “growing humanitarian crisis.”
“Regardless of the federal response — which I think has been lacking in some respects — the District of Columbia will continue to work with partners to advance what we need and ensure our systems in D.C. are not broken by a crisis that is certainly not of our making,” Bowser said.
Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott has bused thousands of migrants to Washington, D.C., Chicago and New York City. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has also started busing migrants who crossed the Mexican border to Democratic-run cities.
The cities are self-declared “sanctuary cities” for migrants who illegally cross the border into the country.
Abbott said that the cities are the “ideal destination for these migrants, who can receive the abundance of city services and housing that (New York City) Mayor Eric Adams has boasted about within the sanctuary city.” He added, “I hope he follows through on his promise of welcoming all migrants with open arms so that our overrun and overwhelmed border towns can find relief.”
Adams has accused Abbott of using human beings as political pawns.
The New York mayor recently sent a “fact-finding” delegation to meet with Border Patrol on the Texas-Mexico border.