Pentagon again denies DC request for National Guard help with migrants

On Monday, The Pentagon rejected another request from The District of Columbia to provide assistance with the bus loads of migrants arriving from Texas and Arizona.  

A copy of the rejection letter was obtained by CNN where the Pentagon, said it “would not be appropriate” to use either the DC National Guard or Defense Department in this case. The Pentagon therefore “cannot fulfill your request.”

The letter went on to cite the National Guard’s lack of experience in dealing with migrants who require food, sanitation, or other forms of support.

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser had initially requested DC National Guard support in late-July when described Washington as being at “tipping point” with the number of migrants arriving. In April, the governors of Texas and Arizona, Greg Abbott, and Doug Ducey, commenced bussing migrants from the southern border to Washington DC, in protest at Joe Biden’s border policies.

Bowser’s initial request was for open-ended deployment of 150 National Guard members per day along with “suitable federal location” housing for all migrants and a suitable location for processing all arrives.  Bowser suggested the D.C.  Armory as a possible location. After this request was rejected, Bowser walked back her stance for open-ended deployment and instead, requested assistance for 90 days.

The Pentagon rebuffed the idea of using The Armory stating that it didn’t have air conditioning and significant investment would have to be made for it to be habitable for overnight stays.

The DC Governor’s Office stated that as of August 5th, Texas had sent 7000 migrants to Washington DC and 900 to New York City.  The Governor’s Office also confirmed that over 41 trips, Arizona had sent 1516 migrants to Washington.  Bowser hit out at both Abbott and Ducey and said that migrants were “tricked” into getting on the buses.

The Guardian reported that Fema provided a $1 million grant to a collection of local charities to help feed and shelter the migrants.  The charities have stated that both their staff and funds are nearing exhaustion and Bowser also stated that this model is not sustainable.