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.
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.
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.
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