Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a state of emergency for Washington, D.C., in response to the thousands of migrants who have been bused to the district from southern border states.
Under the emergency declaration, the city will create the Office of Migrant Services to meet the needs of those who arrive in the district and facilitate onward travel, according to the mayor’s office. More than 9,400 migrants have been bused to Washington from Texas and Arizona, creating what Bowser has deemed a “humanitarian crisis.”
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“With this plan, we are staying true to our DC values and building a system that will support a compassionate, consistent, and well-coordinated response,” Bowser said. “This is a new challenge for DC, but I feel confident that if we lead with our values, and if we put the right systems in place — which we are doing with the Office of Migrant Services, then we will lead a response that makes our community proud.”
Under Bowser’s public emergency declaration, the Migrant Services Office will provide resources such as shelter, meals, urgent medical needs, transportation to final destinations, resettlement services, and translation services. The office will be funded through a $10 million investment from the D.C. government, and the city will seek reimbursement from the federal government, according to the mayor’s office.
Bowser will also send emergency legislation to the D.C. Council proposing the codification of migrant services into the city’s framework.
The Migrant Services Office builds on efforts by the district’s attorney general’s office to provide financial support to local organizations offering humanitarian aid. That grant program, announced by D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine in August, allocated $150,000 to be available to local nonprofit organizations to help cover the costs of housing, food, clothing, transportation, and legal assistance being offered to migrants as they await processing in the district.
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Bowser’s emergency declaration comes almost two weeks after the Department of Defense rejected her second request to activate the National Guard to assist with the influx of migrants coming into the district. That request was rejected in part because the city already had sufficient funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that could be used to shelter the immigrants and provide necessary resources, according to the department.
Bowser has decried Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s initiatives to send migrants to Washington, claiming the migrants are being “tricked” into traveling farther away from their intended destinations. Local organizations have criticized Bowser’s comments, saying several migrants plan to stay in the area surrounding the district but are being denied access to city resources.
