WASHINGTON, D.C.: U.S. President Donald Trump ordered 500 more National Guard members to the city after the shooting of two members of the West Virginia guardsmen by an Afghan migrant on November 26.
The two were among more than 2,000 troops deployed to the nation's capital as part of President Donald Trump's crime-fighting mission that involved taking over the local police department.
They were shot about two blocks from the White House. Officials said they were hospitalized in critical condition. Washington's mayor said they were victims of a "targeted shooting."
Trump launched the deployment on August 11 when he declared a public safety emergency. He said his administration would be removing homeless encampments.
While he said he aimed to reduce crime, the city's attorney general said violent crime in the district was down another 26 percent this year and had reached a 30-year low the year before.
There were 2,188 troops assigned to the joint task force that took over the city's policing.
In early November, the D.C. National Guard had the largest number on the ground with 949. West Virginia was next with 416 guardsmen.
Last week, at least 160 West Virginia troops volunteered to extend their deployment to December 31. The others returned to West Virginia on November 17.
Other states with forces in Washington early this month were Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama.
Officials from several states told The Associated Press they planned to end their deployments by November 30, but also indicated that this depended on whether they received orders to extend their stay.
The D.C. National Guard's deployment order has been renewed through the end of February.
Some troops have been armed and provided a military presence in public spaces, especially in federal parks, subway stations, and Union Station. Others have done yard work, removed graffiti, and cleaned parks.
Since then, most task force daily updates have provided only new troop figures, with no summaries of beautification efforts.
Some residents are unnerved by the National Guard's presence. They see it as presidential overreach on law enforcement. Others say they approve, particularly of a contingent of National Guard troops focused on community improvement efforts.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, has walked a fine line between appeasing Trump and pushing back on the deployment. She needs to be involved as Congress determines the city's budget and laws.
On November 20, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to end the deployment, saying it illegally intruded on local officials' authority to direct law enforcement in the district. U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb put her order on hold for 21 days to allow for an appeal.
In a related development, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said late on November 26 that it has indefinitely halted processing all immigration requests involving Afghan nationals after two National Guard soldiers were shot and critically wounded in Washington.
The decision comes after Trump ordered a review of Afghan immigrants who entered the United States during Joe Biden's presidency.
"The protection and safety of our homeland and of the American people remains our singular focus and mission,"
the agency said in a post on X.