US president Donald Trump has approved a National Guard deployment to Memphis, Tennessee, expanding the federal government’s efforts to crack down on what he has cast as out-of-control crime in Democratic-run cities.
“I’m signing a presidential memorandum to establish the Memphis Safe Task Force, and it’s very important because of the crime that’s going on,” Mr Trump said at the White House on Monday as he approved sending troops to the city.
“We’re going to be doing Chicago probably next,” Mr Trump said, citing another city he has claimed is beset with violence and disorder, and added that he was looking at St Louis and New Orleans as well.
Mr Trump said the Memphis deployment would include the National Guard, in addition to the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Department of Homeland Security officials and US Marshals. And he indicated that additional cities could also see federal resources deployed.
The president likened the Memphis deployment to his efforts in Washington, DC, where he has placed the local police department under federal control and ordered National Guard troops into the capital.
“This task force will be a replica of our extraordinarily successful efforts here,” Mr Trump said.
He was joined on Monday by Republican Tennessee governor Bill Lee, who is backing the president’s move.
“We are very hopeful and excited about the prospect of moving that city forward. I’ve been in office seven years, I’m tired of crime holding the great city of Memphis back,” Mr Lee said.
The new deployment highlights how Mr Trump is moving ahead with his plans to expand the use of the military to implement his policies, including an immigration crackdown, even as the legality of those moves is being challenged in court.
Memphis recorded one of the highest homicide rates of any US city with a population of at least 100,000 last year, according to FBI data. The city’s location in Tennessee, a state with a Republican governor, also sets up the prospect of more co-operation from state and local authorities, in contrast to the opposition Mr Trump has faced from other cities in Democratic-controlled states.
The president has been touting his plans for Memphis, promising a “no-crime miracle” for the city. Mr Trump has also regularly assailed other cities, including Chicago, Baltimore and San Francisco. Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois governor JB Pritzker have staunchly opposed such a move and vowed to challenge it in the courts.
Mr Trump earlier this year deployed the National Guard and US Marines to the Los Angeles area after protests over immigration raids, a move he made despite the opposition of Democratic California governor Gavin Newsom. A US district court judge ruled earlier this month that the deployment violated federal law and issued an order barring the use of military troops in California “to execute the laws”.
Mr Trump on Sunday night escalated his threats against Washington, saying he was prepared to “call a national emergency, and federalise, if necessary” the capital ‘s law enforcement again if city officials did not cooperate with ICE. An emergency declaration for the city came to an end, but National Guard troops are set to remain in the city through November.
The president has touted the operation as a success, claiming that crime in Washington has tumbled and noting that it enjoyed a stretch without any murders. While crime surged in Washington after the Covid-19 pandemic, Justice Department data released in January showed violent crime in the city plunging to a 30-year-low.
