Trump Sends Troops to Memphis

President Donald Trump announced this week that he would send National Guard Troops to Memphis, Tennessee, to address violent crime in the city.

While signing an order on Sept. 15 with Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee in the White House, Trump announced he was setting up a task force, combining the FBI, drug enforcement, and immigration authorities to replicate the recent success of crime-fighting efforts in the District of Columbia over the past month.

Memphis had the highest violent crime rate in the United States in 2024, according to FBI data, which was six times greater than the national average at 2,500 violent crimes per 100,000 residents.

The White House said that Memphis has seen 150 murders so far this year, adding that the murder rate for the city was about four times higher than Mexico City, Mexico, and 27 times higher than Havana, Cuba.

Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) applauded the announcement.

“For nearly a year, I have been working to address the violent crime plaguing the city of Memphis,” he said in a statement. “This is an extraordinary display of federal, state, and local governments coming together and setting partisan politics aside to do what’s in the best interest of Americans and keep their communities safe.”

Memphis Mayor Paul Young has not shared the same enthusiasm.

“I did not ask for the National Guard, and I don’t think it is the way to drive down crime,” he said on X.

The American Civil Liberties Union, along with its Tennessee branch, issued a statement in protest on Sept. 16, accusing Trump of expanding his power and stoking fear.

“When military troops police civilians, we have an intolerable threat to individual liberty and the foundational values of this country,” Hina Shamsi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Security Project, said.

“True safety comes from empowering the community, not using state power to go after our immigrant neighbors, people of color, and those who dissent against the government’s brutal policies,” said the community engagement director for the ACLU of Tennessee, Claire Gardner.

Memphis has often been described as the “Birthplace of Rock’ n Roll,” producing such great artists as Elvis, B.B. King, and Johnny Cash.

Police reinforcements and National Guard were sent to Washington in early August to help deal with unprecedented levels of violent crime after Trump declared an emergency on Aug. 11, calling it “Liberation Day.”

On Sept. 18, Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a post on X that there had been 2,869 arrests made along with 271 illegal guns seized since federal deployment in the city.

Trump has considered sending National Guard to other cities, particularly Chicago, which has led to clashes with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who has repeatedly refused the call.

The National Guard is a special part of the U.S. military that can be deployed in times of emergency, answering to state governors and the president.

The Pentagon deployed National Guard troops to areas of California to protect federal facilities and personnel performing federal functions in June.

Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom sued the Trump administration, alleging that it unlawfully used the troops. On Sept. 2, a federal judge in California agreed in an order that the administration had violated the Posse Comitatus Act that the troops had engaged in civilian law enforcement. Two days later, an Appeals court granted an administrative stay on the lower court’s order, pending an appeal by the Trump administration.

Travis Gillmore and Kevin Stocklin contributed to this report.