Democratic D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has firmly condemned plans by the federal government to build a temporary migrant facility in Washington for unaccompanied minor aliens.
The mayor said she has “no intention” of allowing such a facility to be built in the nation’s capital, reacting from an application by federal contractor Dynamic Service Solutions to build the temporary facility. DSS had previously placed ads for medical staff, educators, and counselors to work with unaccompanied minor immigrants.
“Washington, D.C. will not be complicit in the inhumane practice of detaining migrant children in warehouses,” Bowser said in a statement Tuesday. “We have no intention of accepting a new federal facility, least of all one that detains and dehumanizes migrant children.”
Though the plans for the facility are planned by the federal government, the local D.C. Child and Family Services Agency must issue the license for a facility that plans to care for minors. They found the initial application from DSS to be “inadequate,” according to the Washington Post.
The structure will also need approval from the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, which issues certificates for buildings that will have occupants.
Bowser also championed the closure of a large D.C. homeless shelter in 2018, citing overcrowded conditions.
