DC Mayor Declares Emergency Over Migrants Being Bused to Nation’s Capital From Texas, Arizona

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) is taking action in response to the influx of migrants being bused to the nation’s capital.

On Thursday, Bowser announced that she was declaring an emergency to handle the influx of migrants.

“We’re putting in place a framework that would allow us to have a coordinated response with our partners,” she said.

The mayor continued, “This will include a program to meet all buses, and given that most people will move on, our primary focus is to make sure we have a humane, efficient, welcome process that will allow people to move on to their final destination.”

“Regardless of the federal response — which I think has been lacking in some respects — that the District of Columbia would 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,” she added.

Under the order, a Migrant Services Office will be established in the Department of Human Services to “provide temporary services and supports to migrants arriving from the southern border states.”

The governors of Texas and Arizona have chartered buses to transport migrants to several large cities in the U.S., including New York City and Chicago.

Bowser has previously spoken out about the transportation of migrants and called it a “very significant issue.”