Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a public health emergency on Thursday, September 8th, 2022, following the arrival of over thousands of migrants from Arizona and Texas. Greg Abbott, the Governor of Texas, and Doug Ducey, the Governor of Arizona began sending migrants to the nation’s capital on buses in a form of protesting against the Biden administration’s immigration policies. Mayor Muriel Bowser responded by creating a system where each sent bus is met and assisted in the process of moving on to their final destination. Bowser announced that the district’s new Office of Migrant Services will be located within the Department of Human Services and plans on meeting the basic needs of newly arrived migrants. These basic needs include providing the migrants with meals, immediate medical attention, and forms of transportation to help them access resettlement services.
In addition, Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington, DC requested assistance from the Department of Defense on activating DC’s national guard in order to keep the growing humanitarian crisis under control. Although her request was declined, Bowser promised to keep moving forward and ensuring that the migrants who come through the city on their journey to their final destination in the nation have a comfortable setting and everything they may require to settle down in the meantime.
