The Democrat Washington D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser is scrambling to fix the illegal immigration surge the district is facing following Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s bussing of illegal immigrants to the nation’s capital.
The Pentagon denied DC mayor Bower’s second request to deploy the National Guard to help soothe the excessive illegal imigration surge. Last month, Bowser issued her first request, which was denied on August 4th.
A week later, on August 11th, Bowser requested 150 National Guardsmen be deployed for 90 days, instead of originally requesting for an indefinite period, to “help prevent a prolonged humanitarian crisis in our nation’s capital resulting from the daily arrival of migrants.”
In their second denial response, the Pentagon explained in a letter that a deployment of troops”would not be appropriate.”
Bowser expressed her disappointment with the response on Twitter. “We are going to move forward with our planning to ensure that when people are coming through DC on their way to their final destination that we have a humane setting for them,” the DC mayor posted.
We are going to move forward with our planning to ensure that when people are coming through DC on their way to their final destination that we have a humane setting for them.
— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) August 22, 2022
Mayor Bowser has called upon the federal government to transform government-operated facilities like the DC Armory be transformed into “respite center[s]” to temporarily house the illegal immigrants.
The Pentagon was forced to explain to the mayor that a deployment of the National Guard would negatively impact the Guard’s readiness and how the DC Armory was not even air conditioned. “A substantial remediation for a number of issues” would need to be established to transform the Armory into a humane shelter for illegal aliens.
Defense Department executive secretary Kelly Bulliner Holly said the D.C. National Guard (DCNG) was not trained to help house illegal immigrants. “The DCNG has no specific experience in or training for this kind of mission or unique skills for providing facility management, feeding, sanitation or ground support,” Holly wrote in the rejection letter.
Earlier this week, Bowser led a call for D.C. to be granted statehood, so she would be able to mobilize the Guard herself, without Pentagon approval. The House of Representatives passed the bill Thursday.
Stay tuned to National File for any updates.