Trump sends National Guard, more federal law enforcement to Memphis

In an address from the Oval Office on Sept. 15, President Donald Trump officially announced plans to deploy the National Guard, along with a surge of federal law enforcement, to Memphis.

The task force, Trump said, will be a “replica” of the federal deployment seen in Washington, D.C. — a mixture of troops from the National Guard, agents from the FBI, Drug Enforcement, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security and U.S. Marshals Service. It also will see more federal prosecutors in Memphis.

Trump’s fully revealed plan came after a week of speculation and reporting that Memphis would be the next destination for National Guard troops. In a Sept. 12 appearance on Fox News, Trump confirmed Memphis would see a deployment, but did not provide any details about when or how many troops would be deployed.

“Today, at the request of Gov. Bill Lee of Tennessee, who’s standing with us, as you know, I’m signing a presidential memorandum to establish the Memphis Safe Task Force,” Trump said during the Sept. 15 press conference. “It’s very important because of the crime that’s going on, not only in Memphis, in many cities. We’re going to take care of all of them step-by-step.”

More: National Guard to Memphis: A look at Trump’s controversial crime-fighting effort

He also left the question about who would be leading the troops in question. National Guard troops, but for select circumstances, cannot act as law enforcement. One of those exceptions is if they are led by a state’s governor.

During the press conference, he said the Tennessee National Guard would be deployed, the indication being that they would be under Lee’s command. The presidential memorandum signed by Trump further said troops will be deployed “in such numbers and for such duration as the governor may deem necessary and appropriate to assist with the activities of the task force.”

Additionally, the memo said Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem will be able to “request such National Guard support as necessary and appropriate to accomplish this mission.”

Why is Trump deploying the National Guard in Memphis?

Trump has called Memphis “deeply troubled,” saying crime is a problem that can only be solved by the intervention of the national guard. He also said both Memphis Mayor Paul Young and Lee supported the move.

During the Sept. 15 press conference, he said crime in Memphis had gotten worse during the early parts of 2025 until a surge of federal agents came to Memphis. This, however, was not reflected in crime statistics from the Memphis Shelby County Crime Commission, which uses statistics from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

According to data from the crime commission, violent crime had dropped 8.8% and property crime dropped 19.7% through the first three months of the year compared to the same time in 2024. Crime continued that downward trend through June this year, with violent crime being down 17.4% and property crime being down 22.2% compared to the first six months of 2024.

Lee has since said he was in constant communication with the Trump administration to “develop a strategic plan to combat crime in Memphis, leveraging the full extent of both federal and state resources.” Part of this effort, according to Lee, is an action he called “Operation Viper.”

“Mr. President, first of all, thank you,” Gov. Bill Lee said during the press conference. “Thank you for your commitment for federal resources to the great city of Memphis. And it is a great city. It has a great history and a great legacy. We are very hopeful and concerned about moving that city forward. I’ve been in office for seven years. I’m tired of crime holding the great city of Memphis back.”

Though thanking the president during his remarks, as he did in a statement after reports of a National Guard deployment coming to Memphis first surfaced last week, he did not mention the National Guard by name during his brief comments.

It is still unclear how many troops will be deployed to Memphis and when they will be deployed.

Young, however, said he did not support deploying the National Guard in Memphis. Instead, he called for federal law enforcement — additional FBI, Drug Enforcement Agency, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents — and more funding for the Memphis Police Department.

Despite the move being publicly heralded by Republicans, a source said the decision to deploy National Guard troops to Memphis came as a surprise to Lee, Young and Republican U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty. The three officials had been meeting for months about getting more law enforcement resources to Memphis, but none of those conversations involved the National Guard, the source added.

Lucas Finton covers crime, policing, jails, the courts and criminal justice policy for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached by phone or email: (901)208-3922 and Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com, and followed on X @LucasFinton.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Trump creates ‘Memphis Safe Task Force,’ deploys federal agents