On September 15, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an order deploying the National Guard to Memphis, Tennessee, in what he described as a sweeping effort to combat crime and restore public safety. The move, which Trump called a “replica” of his earlier intervention in Washington, D.C., marks another high-profile test of presidential power and the federal government’s role in local law enforcement. It has sparked a flurry of debate and uncertainty in both Memphis and the nation’s capital, raising questions about the effectiveness, legality, and local reception of such interventions.
Trump’s announcement came during a packed Oval Office event attended by Republican Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and the state’s two U.S. senators, Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty. The president did not mince words about his intentions, declaring Memphis a “deeply troubled” city and vowing to “stamp out crime” through a coordinated law enforcement surge. “This task force will be a replica of our extraordinarily successful efforts here,” Trump said, referring to the federalization of Washington, D.C.’s police force earlier this year. “And, you’ll see it’s a lot of the same thing.” (Associated Press)
The presidential memorandum, however, left many details unresolved. It did not specify when the National Guard troops would arrive, where they would be stationed, or what precise authorities they would have in Memphis. Planning, according to Governor Lee’s spokesperson Elizabeth Lane Johnson, was “currently underway,” with federal and local partners working to “determine the most effective path forward.” The order also allowed for out-of-state support, including state police from neighboring Mississippi and Arkansas and National Guard units from other states if needed. (AP, USA Today)
Trump’s action was not limited to Memphis. On the same day, he threatened to once again federalize the Washington, D.C. police force if the city’s mayor, Muriel Bowser, refused to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. Trump’s previous emergency order placing the D.C. police under federal control had expired just days earlier, on September 11. Mayor Bowser had made clear that, after the order’s expiration, the Metropolitan Police Department would not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). “Immigration enforcement is not what MPD does,” Bowser said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on September 10. “It won’t be what MPD does in the future.” (Associated Press)
During the emergency period in D.C., more than 40% of arrests were immigration-related, highlighting the Trump administration’s continued push for hardline immigration policies as part of its crime-fighting strategy. While Trump claimed his intervention had improved crime in the capital, data showed that crime was already on the decline before the federal law enforcement surge began. Despite the expiration of the emergency order, federal agencies and National Guard units from D.C. and seven states continued their operations in the city as of September 15. (AP)
Back in Memphis, the federal intervention was met with a mixture of skepticism, resignation, and cautious cooperation at the local level. Mayor Paul Young, a Democrat, publicly denied welcoming the National Guard deployment and said he first learned about the decision from Trump’s interview on national television. “I did not ask for the National Guard, and I don’t think it’s the way to drive down crime,” Young told reporters on September 12. Still, he acknowledged, “they are coming.” With the decision made, Young stated his intent to work with federal authorities to shape the Guard’s role, suggesting possible assignments such as traffic control at large events, camera monitoring, or even beautification projects. (WREG, AP)
Memphis Police Chief C.J. Davis echoed the need for clear coordination, emphasizing that the National Guard troops would be drawn from Tennessee and not other states. “I’ve already been in touch with one of their representatives. We planned to meet next week to really sit down and talk. Ideally, we will have a memorandum of understanding. We all need to be on the same page about who is doing what,” Davis told WREG. The city’s police department has already been working with federal agencies like the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the Tennessee Highway Patrol in ongoing crime reduction efforts. (WREG)
Governor Lee, for his part, fully embraced the deployment as part of a broader crackdown on crime in Memphis. “I’m tired of crime holding the great city of Memphis back,” Lee said during the Oval Office event. He also announced the dispatch of 50 additional Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers to bolster local police. While the White House asserted that Memphis’s crime rate was higher than the national average and suggested it had increased since last year, local police reported decreases across every major crime category in the first eight months of 2025. Overall crime had reached a 25-year low, and the murder rate had fallen to its lowest point in six years, according to police data. Nevertheless, Memphis has grappled with persistent gun violence, with a record 390 homicides in 2023. (AP, USA Today)
The deployment has not been without controversy. Some local Democrats, including Shelby County General Sessions Court Clerk Tami Sawyer, have called for legal action to oppose the National Guard presence. The debate over federal intervention has also played out in other cities. Trump indicated that Chicago, New Orleans, Baltimore, and St. Louis could be next in line for similar deployments, regardless of whether state and local officials support the move. “We hope we have the governor’s help,” Trump said about Chicago. “But, if we don’t we’re doing it without him.” (AP, USA Today)
Public opinion in Memphis appears to favor the deployment, at least according to an unscientific poll conducted by WREG, which found over 80% of respondents supported the National Guard’s arrival. Still, many questions remain unanswered: When will the troops arrive? What will their mission look like on the ground? And how will the federal-local partnership unfold in practice? As planning continues, city officials and residents alike are bracing for what could be a pivotal moment in Memphis’s fight against crime—and a significant chapter in the ongoing national debate over law enforcement, local autonomy, and the reach of presidential authority.
With the eyes of the nation on Memphis, the coming weeks will reveal whether this unprecedented federal intervention delivers on its promises—or deepens the divisions over how best to keep America’s cities safe.
