DC allocated $22M in local funds for immigrant busing crisis: Report.

Washington, D.C. Spends Millions to Address Immigration Crisis

Washington, D.C. has allocated over $22 million in local funds to tackle the influx of immigrants and asylum-seekers arriving from southern border states. The city’s efforts have been significant, with the creation of the D.C. Office of Migrant Services and the allocation of substantial funds.

Costly Crisis

In the first four months of 2023 alone, the district has already spent more than $8 million to address the needs of immigrants who have arrived from Texas and Arizona. The Lone Star State has transported nearly 20,000 immigrants across the country as part of their “border bus mission” since April 2022.

As of May, the immigrant crisis has cost the city a staggering $15.1 million in temporary housing, food, and other support services, according to the D.C. Department of Human Services.

State of Emergency

In response to the escalating situation, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a state of emergency and established the migrant services office in September 2022, initially providing $10 million in funding. Mayor Bowser expressed the district’s intention to seek reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for eligible services. Last year, nearly 10,000 immigrants arrived in the city.

A Housing Crisis

The Department of Human Services announced in May that due to limited space, immigrant families arriving by bus from Texas and Arizona were no longer being placed in hotels as temporary lodging. This has left new migrants with the only option of living on the streets or receiving a ticket to another location, as highlighted by D.C. council member Robert C. White Jr. during a council meeting.

Council member Janeese Lewis George referred to the situation as a “new housing crisis” at the time.

The Department of Human Services previously stated that the Office of Migrant Services continues to process arriving buses, assist with onward travel, and provide information and resources to those arriving in the district. However, it remains unclear whether the housing process has resumed.

Current Situation

As of May, approximately 1,249 immigrants were residing in three hotels in Northeast Washington. These hotels have been utilized by the city since last summer as a temporary solution to prevent homelessness among these families, according to the Department of Human Services.

The Washington Examiner has reached out to Mayor Bowser’s office and the Department of Human Services for further comment on the matter.

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