Democratic Washington D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser told CBS “Face The Nation” host Margaret Brennan, Sunday, that she fears people are being “tricked” into getting on buses to D.C.
Brennan cited a story by the Washington Post that she claimed said, “homeless shelters in D.C. were filling up, and groups are getting overwhelmed by these buses that governors of Texas and Arizona are sending here full of migrants.” The story cited doesn’t mention homeless shelters, but was about a Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network (SAMU) shelter, specifically for migrants, that was full, according to the Washington Post.
Homeless shelters in Washington D.C. are filling up with asylum seekers from Texas and Arizona. Mayor Bowser says “I fear that they’re being tricked into nationwide bus trips when their final destinations are places all over the United States of America.” pic.twitter.com/7OOH6F2Dpl
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) July 17, 2022
“How significant is this influx? How many people?” Brennan asked Bowser in a clip shared online. “Well, this is a very significant issue. We have for sure called on the federal government to work across state lines to prevent people from really being tricked into getting on buses,” Bowser responded in the clip. (RELATED: ‘There’s A Lot Of Mentally Ill People On These Streets’: Olympian Kim Glass Says She Was Brutally Attacked With Pipe By Homeless Man)
“We think they’re largely asylum seekers who are going to final destinations that are not Washington D.C. I worked with the White House to make sure that FEMA provided a grant to a local organization that is providing services to folks,” Bowser continued, “But, I fear that they’re being tricked into nationwide bus trips when their final destinations are places all over the United States of America.”