(New York Post) Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser declared the busing of migrants to the nation’s capital a public emergency Thursday as over 9,000 asylum-seekers have arrived in the district since April.
The declaration authorizes Bowser to establish an Office of Migrant Services, which will provide support and services to migrants being sent to Washington DC from Texas and Arizona.
The district will initially allocate $10 million for the creation of the new office and will seek reimbursement from the federal government, according to the announcement.
“This is what we know. The crisis at the border is not lessening. It’s getting worse,” Bowser said at a press conference, adding that she expects “hundreds of more buses” to arrive in the fall.
According to the mayor’s office, about 9,400 migrants have arrived in DC since April, when Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott first began sending busloads of illegal migrants in an attempt to coerce Democratic leaders and the Biden administration to tighten border control. Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey began following Abbott’s lead shortly thereafter.
Abbott has also been busing migrants to New York City since June, and began sending buses to Chicago last week.
