Amid cooling immigration crisis, the National Guard troops supporting immigrant shelters in New York City will begin withdrawing starting from December 18.
According to the New York Post, state officials revealed on December 12 that with the easing of the immigration crisis, the New York Army National Guard’s mission to support the city’s immigrant shelters has been deemed as “accomplished.” Support will cease from December 18 onwards, and the National Guard troops deployed at the shelters will all return to their units by March 31 of next year.
In 2022, due to a large influx of undocumented immigrants into New York City, the city’s manpower was overwhelmed. Therefore, the state government dispatched approximately 2,000 National Guard troops to be deployed at the shelters, providing logistical and operational support. Since August this year, as the number of immigrants in the shelters decreased, the National Guard also began reducing the number of deployed personnel.
However, the mission of deploying National Guard troops in the New York City subway system to reduce crime will continue. Governor Hochu, in an MSNBC interview on December 12, stated that the National Guard and state police will continue to protect subway passengers and prevent street shootings. She said they are still very busy with these tasks.