Migrant children will be enrolled into D.C.'s public schools as buses carrying asylum seekers continue to come into the nation's capital.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Tuesday the city would begin to enroll migrant children beginning this week.
"School-aged children will go to school. That’s the plan," Bowser told reporters Tuesday.
More than 6,000 adults and children seeking asylum have arrived in D.C. since Texas and Arizona began busing them to so-called "sanctuary cities" a few months ago. Bowser has called the issue a "humanitarian crisis" and warned that D.C.'s resources are being stretched thin.
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On Monday, the Department of Defense denied for a second time Bowser's request for the National Guard to help with the influx of migrants.
"Cities alone can't solve a broken immigration system. But having said that, we are going to do everything we can to have a humane setting," Bowser said.
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D.C. homeless shelters for single adults have reached capacity and the city is housing migrant families in hotels.
The Central American Resource Center is one non-governmental organization helping migrants when they reach D.C.
"While I may agree with [Bowser that] immigration is a federal issue, when people are in your city in your streets, it becomes a local issue, and she needs to engage with us to develop programs to be sure that these immigrants that are coming land in a way that is one so that they can integrate better into our community and become productive members of our community," said Abel Nunez, executive director of the Central American Resource Center.
Many of those who arrived in D.C. were taken to a temporary respite center in Montgomery County, Maryland.
"We are nearing capacity with the resources we are currently providing to these individuals. We hope the federal government will intervene, assist and work with us to handle this unprecedented situation," Scott Peterson, a spokesperson for County Executive Marc Elrich, said.
