The domestic military mission, which is the subject of an ongoing court challenge, was due to expire at the end of February.

With each phone call home, the troops describe a mission unlike any other. One soldier from Tennessee told his father that from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. every day, his only task is to walk around Chinatown.

Less than six months after President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard to Washington, DC, the mission is becoming more perilous and complex — and perhaps more permanent. After last month’s ...