US President Donald Trump, joined by Tennessee's Republican Governor Bill Lee, on Monday established a task force to take on crime in Memphis, Tennessee.
The Democratic-led city is the second to face a Trump administration crackdown on crime, following Washington DC. Trump has vowed to fix the city after shelving plans for a similar operation in Chicago, reportedly due to opposition from local and state officials.
Memphis' mayor, Paul Young, also has voiced opposition to the plan, arguing that crime already is falling without federal intervention.
The president said on Monday, however, that Memphis is overrun with carjackings, robberies and shootings, as well as other crimes. We're not going to allow this kind of savagery to destroy our society anymore, Trump stated at a memorandum-signing event in the Oval Office.
Trump claims that the Memphis task force will replicate the efforts seen in Washington D.C. He intends to activate federal agencies including the National Guard, FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Department of Justice.
Lee praised his efforts for sustained crime lowering in the state. In an interview with CNN on Saturday, Young expressed his unwillingness towards federal plans to deploy the National Guard to Memphis, stating that plans first surfaced on Fox News just the day prior to the official announcement.
Young emphasized the need for local decision-making on how federal resources engage with Memphis communities, advocating for a limited impact on the neighborhoods involved.
Republican lawmakers in the state—including Governor Lee—have shown their support for the initiative. Lee articulated that he has been collaborating with the White House to direct federal and state resources toward combating crime in Memphis.
FBI statistics reveal that Memphis has one of the highest rates of violent crime in the US, with 2,501 violent crimes per 100,000 people in 2024. Trump's announcement follows weeks of speculation regarding potential deployments for addressing crime in major US cities, including New Orleans and Baltimore.
While Trump touts successes in Washington D.C.—where the deployment of National Guard troops and federal officers led to significant arrests—local residents in Memphis express skepticism towards the effectiveness and legality of such measures, similar to a recent ruling that deemed Trump's use of troops in Los Angeles as illegal.
