The Pentagon has reportedly denied Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bower’s request to activate the National Guard to assist with the influx of migrants being bussed in from border states.
A senior defense official told Fox News that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has declined to approve the DCHSEMA request for DCNG to provide personnel.
“We have determined providing this support would negatively impact the readiness of the DCNG and have negative effects on the organization and members,” the official said. “We understand SAMU First Response has received grant funding through FEMA’s Emergency Food and Shelter Program, and has indicated that sufficient EFSP funds exist at this point to provide migrant assistance.”
Last week, Bowser requested the National Guard’s assistance to address what she labeled a “humanitarian crisis” as more than 4,000 migrants have been dropped off in the Nation’s Capital.
“We are focused, and we continue to be very focused on having the federal government do its part and take the lead in what we see as a growing humanitarian crisis with people who are seeking asylum coming across the country to get to their final destinations,” Bower said.
Bower also requested the D.C. Armory be used as a processing center for migrants entering the DMV.
In April, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced he would bus migrants entering the Lone Star State to Biden’s doorstep in response to the Biden administration’s decision to lift Title 42, a Trump-era policy that limited the number of migrants crossing the border.
“We are sending them to the United States’ capital, where the Biden administration will be able to more immediately address the needs of the people that they are allowing to come across our border,” Abbott said at a press conference at the time.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s June Operational Report recorded a record number of 207,416 encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border, including a record amount of terrorist sightings. June marked the fourth consecutive month of more than 200,000 encounters.
With June’s figures, there have now been 1,746,119 total encounters at the southern border in the 2022 fiscal year.
This article originally appeared in American Liberty News. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of The Republican Standard. Republished with permission.