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.
News: DC Mayor Bowser declares emergency in response to the thousands of migrants bused here from Texas and Arizona. The declaration gives her more power and flexibility to manage the humanitarian crisis.
— Amanda Michelle Gomez (@amanduhgomez) September 8, 2022
She’s also creating a new office to support needs of migrants. pic.twitter.com/sjecWPlOuJ
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.”
In July, she asked for help from the federal government to address the influx of migrants.
“We need the Guard to help with the humanitarian crisis that we expect to escalate. The number of people crossing the border seeking asylum, we expect to only go up,” she said during a press conference, adding, “We need to make sure that there is a national response, not an ad hoc city by city, state by state response.”
However, the Pentagon rejected her request for assistance from the National Guard.
Earlier this month, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot accused Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) of “unpatriotic conduct” by sending migrants to her city.
“We can and must do better as Americans. The rest of the world is watching us and how we’re treating these people who are coming to our country because they’re fleeing violence,” Lightfoot said.
Taking aim at Abbott, Lightfoot said, “He professes to be a Christian. This is not the Christianity and the teachings of the Bible that I know. And I think religious leaders all across the country are standing up and denouncing exactly this.”
“But what we mean — must do in this moment is make sure that we do live our values and we open up every opportunity that we can to support these migrants,” she added.
