Washington, D.C., sent another plea to the Department of Defense for the deployment of the National Guard in response to an influx of migrants after the agency denied the district’s initial request.
Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) sent the follow-up letter, which noted “additional information,” as the city scrambles to manage a sudden influx of migrants bused in from Texas in protest of the Biden administration’s handling of the border crisis. A July 19 request was rejected on Aug. 4 by the Pentagon, which claimed that the district had been given enough funds from the Federal Emergency Management Administration to manage the situation.
DEMOCRATS IN DISARRAY OVER MIGRANT BUSES
Bowser sent another request on Thursday, asking for a 90-day deployment of the guard while claiming the Pentagon had only refused her previous request because it failed to understand the situation.
We need help from our federal partners as we seek to stabilize and manage our operating environment in this critical moment.
I have been honored to work with the men and women of the DC National Guard many times and today we renewed our request for their assistance. pic.twitter.com/FOivGilYZ5
— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) August 11, 2022
“The Executive Secretariat referred to FEMA, SAMU, and local governments in the region handling federal immigration issues and the FEMA grant funds available to assist these efforts; unfortunately, it failed to demonstrate an understanding of the urgent staffing and logistical challenges that have led me to make this logistical request of our National Guard resources,” Bowser wrote. “The Guard is uniquely resourced to provide emergency logistical support.”
The mayor shook off criticism in the letter by noting that the guard had been deployed dozens of previous times on her orders without militarizing a humanitarian mission.
“As Mayor since 2015, I’ve requested DC National Guard support nearly 50 times — to support our COVID-19 response, major events, and severe weather. Each time, these operational, apolitical requests have been granted. I have been honored to work with these men and women to keep our nation’s capital safe in times of great stress, and I take very seriously my responsibility to honor their service with legitimate, on-mission requests,” she added.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R-TX) administration has offered migrants bus rides to the nation’s capital, as well as New York City, in an effort to highlight the burden of the migrant crisis and force Washington to rethink its border policy.
