The mission of National Guard soldiers assisting New York City’s overwhelmed migrant shelters will wrap up next week, The Post has learned.
The New York Army National Guard’s deployment, which began in 2022, will cease supporting city shelters starting Dec. 18, as the migrant crisis subsides, state officials announced Thursday.
By March 31, all troops stationed in migrant shelters across the state will return home, according to orders obtained by The Post, which mark the mission as “completed.”
“When New York City faced an influx of newly arrived migrants, the state deployed about 2,000 National Guard members to provide logistical and operational support,” said a statement from the state’s Department of Military and Naval Affairs.
“As the number of migrants in shelters declined in August, the National Guard deployment was gradually reduced.”
This end of the deployment is unrelated to the increased presence of soldiers in the city’s subway system, where they are tasked with reducing transit crime — a mission that will continue, officials confirmed.
“My National Guard and my State Police — I just want to send a message out — they’re busy protecting New Yorkers in the subways and keeping guns off the streets,” Governor Kathy Hochul stated on MSNBC’s Morning Joe Thursday. “They’re kind of busy right now.”
Over 200,000 migrants have arrived in New York City since 2022, stretching the city’s resources as officials worked to shelter, feed, and provide resources to the newcomers.
The pace of arrivals has significantly slowed in recent months, leading to the gradual closure of migrant shelters, including the upcoming shutdown of the large facility at Brooklyn’s Floyd Bennett Field.
In recent months, discussions about removing the National Guard from city shelters led to Thursday’s order.
Nearly 57,000 migrants remain under the care of the city, according to the latest data from Mayor Eric Adams’ administration.
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