WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — An emergency bill that would allow the District of Columbia to open the Office of Migrant Services will not provide permanent housing for the migrants that are being bused to the nation's capital from Texas and Arizona.
D.C. will allocate $10 million to establish and support the OMS and then the local government would request reimbursement for part of that funding from FEMA.
The new office, which will be under D.C.'s Department of Human Services, will provide basic needs upon the arrival of migrants, like meals, transportation, healthcare and resettlement services.
The legislation that is set to be voted on by the Council on Tuesday clearly stipulates "temporary shelter, which may be provided in a congregate setting".
"If you read through this legislation it uses a lot of words like temporary and term-limited. There are no permanent solutions for housing," said Ashely Tjhung an organizer with Migrant Solidarity Mutual Network who says that the proposal falls short of the reality that these migrant families are living in the District.
As of Sept. 8, the Mayor's office reported that 348 asylum seekers were living in two hotels in D.C. Bowser said 90 families now call the nation's capital home and 70 students are enrolled in D.C. public schools.
"Mayor Bowser from the beginning has pushed this narrative that migrants are not staying within the District, that this is just a stopping point. We have been pushing back," said Tjhung to WUSA9.
Migrant Solidarity Mutual Network says that asylum seekers are facing struggles in finding housing in the DMV because they do not have the proper documentation requested by landlords. Some of their volunteers have offered up their own homes to assist the newly arrived families.
The Mayor's office says D.C. is facing a shortage of affordable housing in the district, and the inclusion of migrant families would overwhelm an already struggling system.
"I am seeing that there are a lot people here that have been here for four or five months," said Marilyn to WUSA9. The asylum seeker from Venezuela arrived at Union Station on Tuesday and is now staying at one of the hotels being provided by the D.C. government. She says she is getting concerned about her family's future after seeing that others have been unable to get permanent housing.
"My husband and I want support just to work, rent our place and be independent of the government. We don't want to be here and be kept," said Marilyn. Her husband has been working as a day laborer while the mother of five waits at the Northeast hotel for the nonprofit groups to provide updates about where they can go next.
Marilyn's friend Nori and her 10-year-old daughter are in a similar situation.
"It is not easy." Nori who is also from Venezuela wants to find work but does not even have shoes to look for a job and she is scared of leaving her daughter by herself.
"I want to find a job because I have never depended on anyone. I have always depended on my work and the money I have in my pocket," said Nori who fears that they could lose their hotel room at any moment.
The mayor's office has not established a timeline for the migrants to be able to stay at the hotels provided by the local government.
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