It’s not certain how many children have come to the nation’s capital since Texas and Arizona started transporting migrants to the district earlier this year, but D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser verified on Monday that it is the city’s “plan” to ensure those who are “school-aged” are enrolled. The announcement comes just one week before the academic year begins on Aug. 29 for K-12 students and Sept. 1 for pre-K students.
"We are committed to supporting families in the District and are proud to welcome students to DCPS,” a spokesperson for the city's school district told the Washington Examiner. “We have a process in place to support families who have arrived here under these types of circumstances and will be providing direct enrollment and other DCPS supports."
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On the same day Bowser announced migrant children would be enrolled in public schools, the Department of Defense dismissed the mayor’s second request to have the D.C. National Guard deployed to assist. More than 6,000 migrants have been transported to Washington under initiatives by Govs. Greg Abbott (R-TX) and Doug Ducey (R-AZ) oppose what they argue is the Biden administration’s refusal to concede a border crisis. Many of the migrants stopped at the border have been published on humanitarian parole or with notes to appear in immigration court, per the Associated Press.
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Bowser’s appeal was dropped in part because the city already had adequate funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that could be used to shelter the immigrants and provide necessary resources, the department told the Washington Examiner. The mayor had asked that the district's National Guard be activated permanently to help respond to the influx of migrants being transported to the district, arguing that it is a federal issue rather than a local one.
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“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,” Bowser said in a tweet on Monday. “We will continue working with federal partners and local NGOs on the best way to set up systems that allow us to manage an ongoing humanitarian crisis.”
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The D.C. Office of the Attorney General has grown support to local humanitarian groups by offering grants to help cover the costs of housing, food, clothing, transportation, and legal assistance being offered to migrants as they await processing in the District. The grant program has put aside $150,000 to be used by local nonprofit organizations, giving up to $50,000 per organization that must be spent within the next two months.
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