Mayor Muriel Bowser criticized the migrant buses heading to Washington, D.C., saying asylum-seekers are being “tricked” into traveling away from their intended destinations.
Thousands of people released from Border Patrol custody after illegally crossing the southern border have opted to take buses to the nation’s capital under initiatives rolled out by the governors of Arizona and Texas, according to state officials. However, several of these migrants argue they were persuaded to take the trip under false pretenses and that they were promised help in the district only to be faced with homelessness once they arrived.
DC DEMOCRATS BEG FOR HELP AS BORDER STATES BUS MIGRANTS TO BIDEN’S BACKYARD
“This is a very significant issue. We have called on the federal government to work across state lines to prevent people from really being tricked into getting on buses. We think they’re largely asylum-seekers or going to final destinations that are not Washington, D.C.,” Bowser told CBS News on Sunday. “But I fear that they’re being tricked into nationwide bus trips when their final destinations are places all over the United States.”
The influx of migrants has only exacerbated the homelessness crisis in Washington, Bowser said, leaving several organizations scrambling as shelters fill up. Buses from Arizona and Texas have been transporting migrants to the nation’s capital for months, with more expected in the coming weeks.
Aid groups have struggled to keep up with the rising numbers, leading many migrants to sleep on the ground outside of the city’s Union Station after buses dropped them off. Organizations have lamented there aren’t enough resources to respond.
“DC, Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) area community organizations and volunteers have shown up time and again to support our neighbors but we do not have the resources that the government does,” said Madhvi Bahl, a spokesperson for Sanctuary DMV and Free Them All VA.
Bahl, along with dozens of other aid groups in the area, has called on Bowser and President Joe Biden to provide more resources to care for those who have been transported to Washington, D.C.
“We’re doing everything locally that we can. … We’re always looking for the federal government to be a partner, and I have to say that in coming out of this pandemic, everything that the federal government was able to do to help cities like ours to keep people housed with American Rescue Plan dollars, with making sure we’re preventing evictions … has been very helpful,” Bowser said.
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Bowser has sought to address the rising rate of homelessness, making it one of her top priorities in office. The number of displaced people living in Washington, D.C., reached its lowest level in 17 years, falling nearly 17% since the mayor enacted a plan to combat homelessness in 2015, according to an estimate released in April.
Approximately 4,440 people were homeless in the district as of January, a roughly 14% decline from the year before and the lowest number on record since 2005. Despite the fall in numbers, the district is ranked No. 1 for the highest rates of youth poverty and homelessness, according to a report from WalletHub.
