Last month, as Julio covered, Washington D.C.'s Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) called on the D.C. National Guard to step in to assist the city with the influx of illegal immigrants being sent to her sanctuary city by Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) and then Gov. Doug Ducey (R-AZ). Ultimately, her request was denied by the Pentagon. A second request from the mayor has also been denied, according to CBS News' Eleanor Watson.
Watson's report references a letter from the Pentagon to Bowser:
In a letter to Bowser Monday, the Pentagon said the D.C. Guard is not trained or equipped to care for migrants, and the D.C. Armory is not air conditioned, making it unsuitable to accommodate anyone overnight, according to a copy of the letter reviewed by CBS News.
The Department of Defense in its letter also acknowledged it is aware of concerns associated with uniformed military personnel in direct contact with migrants in a domestic operation.
"The DC National Guard has no specific experience in or training for this kind of mission or unique skills for providing facility management, feeding, sanitation, or ground support," the letter states.
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The Pentagon rejected Bowser's first request for the guard, saying it would negatively impact troop readiness and noted that the NGOs receiving and supporting migrants arriving into the capital have received sufficient funding through Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants.
In her second request, Bowser specified the guard would help for 90 days, but the Pentagon said this amount of time would still impact the readiness of troops and their families.
The Pentagon's second rejection letter on Monday to Bowser added the detail that approving such a request would force D.C. Guard to cancel or disrupt training exercises through the fall.
"In contrast to the civilian-led approaches to migrant reception mentioned above, use of DCNG personnel would be inappropriate to the task, regardless of the duration or number of personnel involved," the letter from the Pentagon states.
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Mayor Bowser called out the busing on her official account from Monday night in a lengthy Twitter thread, referring to the buses being sent to D.C. as a "politically motivated stunt."
We know that these unannounced buses are a politically motivated stunt, one that could very quickly lead to a crisis within our own systems. We struggle with a broken immigration system in our country, and we know that cities alone cannot fix it.
— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) August 22, 2022
As we do that, we remain focused on working with District agencies and local providers to ensure our local systems can continue to function and that we can continue to meet the very real and significant needs of DC residents.
— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) August 22, 2022
As Bowser has done before, she once more used the situation as an opportunity to call for D.C. statehood, even adding in an "of course," despite accusing Govs. Abbott and Ducey--though not by name in this thread--of a "stunt."
And, of course, we will continue fighting for DC statehood so that, in the future, when the Mayor of DC says that we need the support of the DC National Guard, she has the ability to deploy the Guard.
— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) August 22, 2022
Calling for D.C. statehood, which cannot constitutionally be simply done by statute, despite how Democrats have tried, is not the only instance in which Bowser engaged in politics of her own.
The mayor is a vocal supporter of sanctuary cities, as are many Democrats, with Fox News' Tucker Carlson compiling a lengthy and illustrative compilation of such support, though Carlson also pointed out many of them prefer to live in all white neighborhoods.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) also appeared on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" last month to blast Bowser for her complaining about the influx of illegal immigration. "Cry me a frickin' river," the congressman said.
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