Volunteers housing migrants call on Bowser for help

Aid groups overwhelmed with influx of migrants, call for support

As the number of buses delivering migrants from Texas to Union Station continues to increase, aid groups say they are overwhelmed.

WASHINGTON - As the number of buses delivering migrants from Texas to Union Station continues to increase, aid groups say they are overwhelmed.

Many volunteers are asking the government to step in.

"We’ve been alerting the city government for months," said Bianca Vazquez with Beloved Community Incubator, a local community-based non-profit organization.

Vazquez says she's been reaching out to Mayor Bowser and D.C. city leaders about the crisis taking place in the District.

"President Biden has not given this issue any attention and neither have our local officials," she added.

Buses of migrants overwhelm aid groups in DC as more arrive from Texas

Shelters for migrants are at max capacity, meaning some people are sleeping outside Union Station for days.

"How can I let them sleep on the floor of Union Station? So, I started to host another family and at that point, there were 10 people in my house," said M. Felix, the organizing director of Beloved Community Incubator.

Felix currently has a migrant woman from Venezuela living with her in her Columbia Heights home.

However, the health and safety of volunteers and migrants are at risk.

Some migrants left stranded in DC after traveling from Texas, Arizona

Thousands of migrants have arrived in DC after being put on buses by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. While many are receiving help, there are still a number of migrants with nowhere to go.

FOX 5 has learned many migrants are catching COVID-19 on the journey from Texas to D.C. and are spreading the virus to local volunteers.

"The reason this humanitarian public health crisis is suddenly now visible is because many of the people who are doing this, often days without sleep, every day a week are now quarantining, and I lay this at the feet of our mayor," Felix said.

"We’ve been asking for COVID-19 testing; access to isolation hotels; asking for intake sites; for money for transportation and cell phones," Vazquez said.

There could be some help on the way.

READ MORE: First Texas bus drops off migrants blocks from U.S. Capitol in DC

In a four-page letter, D.C. City Councilmember Brianne Nadeau is asking Mayor Bowser to do more.

"I’m hoping that the letter is an opportunity for us to work together as a government. That we can use some of the contingency funds that we have to fill the gap right now, identify a space in the area, provide some boots on the ground to assist where the volunteers have been – so there is a coordinated response, so we can insure that resources are going to where they need to and that resources that are meant for our residents, continue to be for our residents," said Councilmember Nadeau.

FOX 5 did reach out to the White House and FEMA for some answers on if additional help for these migrants is on the way.

We reached out to Mayor Bowser's Office several times between Thursday and Friday, and we are still waiting to hear back.

Catholic Charities in D.C. is another organization that recently had to pull back their volunteers due to resources. The nonprofit issued the following statement:

"Our ongoing response was not sustainable from a staffing and resource perspective, given our many other programs and services. We strongly encouraged local and federal government to step up. On June 8, we transitioned from being a leader in the emergency response to assisting SAMU, which took on the sole leadership role. With a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant, SAMU opened a respite center in Rockville. It also hopes to identify a staging center at Union Station, where Texas buses arrive. Passengers who cannot travel onward immediately will be taken to Rockville, where they can shower, change clothes and rest while plans are made for the remainder of their journey."