Washington mayor's plea on migrant aid rejected by Pentagon

WASHINGTON－The Pentagon, for the second time in recent weeks, rejected on Monday a request by Washington's mayor to help receive migrants arriving from Republican-led states Texas and Arizona in a bid to shift responsibility to the federal government and Democrats.

Mayor Muriel Bowser in July called for the deployment of the District of Columbia National Guard to help with migrants, but that request was denied by the US military.

She repeated her request on Aug 11－this time providing a 90-day timeline that was to begin on Monday.

In a letter to Bowser, the Pentagon said the DC National Guard did not have any specific training or experience in providing facility management, feeding, sanitation, or ground support to migrants.

The letter added that it would have a "substantial" impact on the readiness of the troops in District of Columbia.

US military officials have privately said for the past few years that they are being used for tasks that should be done by civilian agencies and troops should only be used as a last-resort for domestic issues.

The mayor's initial request had frustrated some White House officials who thought Bowser, a Democrat, could handle the issue without military troops and was playing into Republican political attacks on President Joe Biden, a fellow Democrat.

Washington is not a US state or part of one, so the authority to summon National Guard troops rests with the US military.

Texas, led by Republican Governor Greg Abbott, has bused more than 7,000 migrants to Washington since April. Arizona, which followed Texas' lead in May, has sent about 1,500.

The vast majority of those arriving in Washington－up to 90 percent－continue to other US destinations within hours or days, according to volunteers.

Agencies via Xinhua