D.C. Mayor Requests National Guard Help As Texas And Arizona Bus Migrants To City

Topline

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) requested an indefinite activation of the D.C. National Guard on Thursday to respond to a migrant surge she labeled a “humanitarian crisis,” a situation caused by Republican-led busing programs in Texas and Arizona that have sent thousands of migrants from the southern border to the nation’s capital.

Key Facts

Bowser said she has asked the Secretary of the Army to activate the National Guard to deal with a “crisis that we expect to escalate.”

Around 3,500 migrants have reportedly been bused into D.C. since April, when Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) first started offering state-funded bus rides to migrants released from federal custody near the Texas-Mexico border.

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey (R) launched a similar program in May, and the two states have combined to send about 100 buses filled with migrants to D.C.’s Union Station, located just a few blocks from the Capitol.

Crucial Quote

“The number of people crossing the border seeking asylum we expect to only go up,” Bowser said, stating the busing effort is “obviously politically motivated.”

Key Background

The governors started offering free bus rides to migrants in response to the Biden Administration’s plans to end Title 42, a Trump-era policy that rapidly expelled most people arrested after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border—often preventing them from seeking asylum. Courts have thus far prevented the White House from ending the policy, but Abbott and Ducey have continued the busing as an apparent form of protest against Biden’s border policies. Bowser has come under increasing criticism over her handling of the surge recently, with the city largely relying on non-governmental organizations to deal with the influx. Many of the migrants are also traveling beyond D.C. to other destinations, especially New York City, which Mayor Eric Adams (D) says is causing problems. Adams said around 2,800 asylum seekers have filtered into the city in recent months, largely because of the D.C. busing, which he has blamed for a shortage in space at the city’s homeless shelters. The White House has labeled the busing programs a “publicity stunt.”

Big Number

More than $1,400. That’s how much Texas pays for each migrant it buses to D.C., according to an investigation by KXAS-TV—in some cases higher than the cost of first-class plane tickets from border cities to D.C.

Further Reading

Texas Gov. Abbott Says First Migrant Bus Arrives In D.C., Which White House Calls A ‘Publicity Stunt’ (Forbes)

The migrant buses sent to D.C. are a cruel, political stunt (Washington Post)

Judge Blocks Biden Administration From Ending Title 42 Migrant Policy (Forbes)