Washington, D.C. Councilmember Brianne Nadeau lamented during a press conference with Mayor Muriel Bowser on Thursday that the governments of Texas and Arizona busing migrants to the nation's capital has caused the city to become a border town.
Nadeau said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (D) and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) sending willing migrants — who illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border and were then processed and released by Border Patrol — have created the crisis they have been dealing with since the first buses started arriving in the city.
"It's been said but it's worth reiterating, that the governors of Texas and Arizona have created this crisis," said Nadeau. "We've learned from border towns, like El Paso and Brownsville, and in many ways, the governors of Texas and Arizona have turned us into a border town."
She also criticized the federal government for not doing enough to help the District with the bus loads.
DC Council Member @BrianneKNadeau blamed the governors of Texas and Arizona for creating this "crisis" and said they turned DC into a border town. pic.twitter.com/fgPkOrUdQi
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) September 8, 2022
Nadeau had previously declared Washington, D.C. was "a sanctuary city" and the federal government should have no role in immigration enforcement in the area. She has called for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be abolished.
The District is a sanctuary city, which means our law enforcement does not cooperate with ICE. As Councilmember, I have called for an abolition of ICE and wrote DC’s law to establish a permanent immigrant legal services fund.
— Brianne K. Nadeau (@BrianneKNadeau) June 25, 2019
Read full remarks here: https://t.co/D6hi9Tf24G
Standing up for our immigrant community with ?@UNITEDWEDREAM? and ?@SanctuaryDMV? pic.twitter.com/caj5KxcnC7
— Brianne K. Nadeau (@BrianneKNadeau) October 30, 2019
Mayor Bowser announced the creation of Migrant Services Office better facilitate the needs of people arriving to D.C. and their final destinations.