Pentagon DENIES DC Mayor Muriel Bowser's second plea for the National Guard to be deployed to deal with huge influx of migrants into the city
The Pentagon has rejected a second request from Washington, D.C.'s mayor
Muriel Bowser has asked for help to deal with migrants arriving in the city by bus
Pentagon said it 'would not be appropriate' to use the DC National Guard and that the Defense Department 'cannot fulfill your request'
Bowser had initially requested DC National Guard support in late-July when she said the city had reached a 'tipping point' with the number of migrants
More than 7,500 have now arrived since April in the capital
Governors of Texas and Arizona began busing migrants from the southern border to the capital starting in April to protest Biden's immigration policy
Texas is now bussing immigrants to the Big Apple on a regular basis
August 22, 2022
The Pentagon, for the second time in recent weeks, denied on Monday a request by Washington's mayor to help receive migrants arriving from Republican-led states Texas and Arizona in a bid to shift responsibility to the federal government and Democrats.
Mayor Muriel Bowser in July called for the deployment of the District of Columbia National Guard to help with migrants describing it as a 'humanitarian crisis' in the nation's capital.
Bowser asked for 90-day deployment and for a review at the end of that period, but the request was denied by the U.S. military.
She repeated her request on August 11 - this time providing a specific 90-day timeline that would begin on August 22.
In a letter sent to Bowser, the Pentagon citing several reasons for not agreeing to the request including the D.C. National Guard not have any specific training or experience in providing facility management for such a mission that would include feeding, sanitation, or ground support to migrants.
The letter added that it would have a 'substantial' impact on the readiness of the troops in D.C.
In her request, Bowser said most of the migrants bused to D.C. don't stay in the area, and only need assistance for about 72 hours.
U.S. military officials have privately said for the past few years that they are being used for tasks that should be done by civilian agencies and troops should only be used as a last-resort for domestic issues.
The mayor's initial request had frustrated some White House officials who thought Bowser, a Democrat, could handle the issue without military troops and was playing into Republican political attacks on President Joe Biden, a fellow Democrat.
Sauce/more: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11135917/Pentagon-denies-Washington-mayors-request-migrant-help.html