A second request from Mayor Muriel Bowser of the District of Columbia for the deployment of the D.C. National Guard to assist in receiving and housing migrants bused into the city from states like Texas and Arizona was denied by the Pentagon.
According to a copy of the letter seen by CBS News, the Pentagon wrote to Bowser on Monday asserting that the D.C. Guard is not trained or equipped to care for migrants and that the D.C. Armory lacks air conditioning, making it unsuitable to house anyone overnight.
In its letter, the Department of Defense also expressed awareness of worries about uniformed military personnel coming into contact with immigrants during a domestic operation.
According to the letter, the DC National Guard lacks the necessary training, experience, or special abilities to manage facilities, provide food and water, maintain sanitary conditions, or provide ground support.
In an effort to oppose the Biden administration’s efforts to repeal Title 42, a pandemic-related emergency policy that allows border agents to quickly deport migrants, Texas Governor Greg Abbott began loading migrants onto buses and sending them to Washington, D.C., in April. Since then, Arizona’s Republican governor Doug Ducey has started busing immigrants to the capital, following Abbott’s example.
The Pentagon declined Bowser’s initial request for the guard, stating that it would have a negative effect on troop readiness and that the NGOs that welcome and support migrants as they enter the capital have enough funding through grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
The Pentagon stated that even though Bowser’s second request stated the guard would assist for 90 days, the readiness of the military and its members would still be impacted.
In its second rejection letter to Bowser on Monday, the Pentagon included a statement to the effect that granting such a request would require the D.C. Guard to postpone or disrupt training operations throughout the fall.
According to the letter from the Pentagon, “use of DCNG personnel would be inappropriate to the task, regardless of the duration or number of personnel involved,” in contrast to the civilian-led approaches to migrant reception that are mentioned above.
The city will “continue working with federal partners and local NGOs on the best way to set up systems that allow us to manage an ongoing humanitarian crisis,” Bowser tweeted in response to the Defense Department’s decision.
She continued, “We will continue to fight for DC statehood so that the Mayor of DC has the power to deploy the Guard in the future when she says we need the support of the DC National Guard.”
Furthermore, migrants are being bused to New York City by the governors of Texas and Arizona.
According to a DHS spokesperson, the Biden administration has been in touch with the mayors of New York City and Washington, D.C., as well as the FEMA regional administrators. They have also been meeting on the ground to coordinate the support that is available to help receive and shelter the migrants who are arriving in the cities.