On September 12, 2025, President Donald Trump announced on Fox News that the National Guard would be deployed to Memphis, Tennessee, in a move he described as necessary to address the city’s persistent crime concerns. The decision, which Trump claimed had the support of both Memphis Mayor Paul Young and Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, has quickly become a flashpoint in the ongoing national debate over the use of military forces in American cities.
"We’re going to Memphis. Memphis is deeply troubled, the mayor is happy, a democratic mayor. We’re going to fix it like we did Washington," Trump said during his appearance on Fox News, according to Newsweek. He drew a direct connection between the Memphis deployment and earlier National Guard surges in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., moves that were themselves mired in controversy.
But the President’s assertion of local support was immediately challenged. Mayor Paul Young, a Democrat, stood before reporters on September 12, flanked by more than 35 city officials and leaders, and made his position clear: "I do not support the National Guard. However, they are [the governor's to deploy]—it's not the mayor's call. The mayor doesn't have...an authority to stop them. My goal is to make sure that as they come that I have an opportunity to work with them, to strategize on how they engage in this community." Young added, "I do not think it's the way to drive down crime. However, that decision has been made." (Newsweek)
Young emphasized that what Memphis needed most were financial resources for intervention and prevention, additional patrol officers, and case support to bolster police investigations. He stated, "What we need most are financial resources for intervention and prevention, additional patrol officers, and case support to strengthen MPD’s investigations. Memphis is already making measurable progress in bringing down crime, and we support initiatives that help accelerate the pace of the work our officers, community partners, and residents are doing every day." (WREG)
Governor Bill Lee, a Republican, embraced the deployment, describing it as part of a broader law enforcement surge. "I've been in close contact with the Administration throughout the week, and will be speaking with President Trump this afternoon to work out details of the mission. I'm grateful for the President's unwavering support and commitment to providing every resource necessary to serve Memphians, and I look forward to working with local officials and law enforcement to continue delivering results," Lee said in a statement, as reported by Newsweek.
Lee also announced on September 10 the deployment of 50 additional Tennessee Highway Patrol Troopers to support the Memphis Police Department and noted that a task force including the FBI was already targeting the city’s worst offenders. "For months, I have been 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. While the FBI and THP operations continue, we are actively discussing the next phase of our strategy to accelerate the positive momentum that’s already underway, and nothing is off the table," Lee stated (WREG).
Despite the President’s claim that Memphis is "deeply troubled," recent crime statistics paint a more nuanced picture. According to Associated Press, Memphis police reported decreases in every major crime category in the first eight months of 2025 compared to previous years. Overall crime reached a 25-year low, and murders hit a six-year low. Nevertheless, the city’s challenges are far from over. In 2023, Memphis recorded more than 390 homicides—a grim record. The city’s violent crime rate in 2024 stood at about 2,500 per 100,000 residents, the highest in Tennessee and among the worst in the nation, though this marked an 11 percent decrease from the previous year (Newsweek).
Memphis has also been rocked by several high-profile tragedies in recent years. The fatal shooting of rapper Young Dolph in 2021 and the kidnapping and murder of schoolteacher Eliza Fletcher in 2022 were both national news, underscoring the city’s struggle with violent crime. Yet, as Mayor Young and other city officials have repeatedly noted, the trend is moving in the right direction.
Political reactions to the National Guard deployment have fallen largely along party lines, not just in Tennessee but across the country. Republican state Senator Brent Taylor supported the measure, suggesting the Guard would provide "administrative and logistical support" to local law enforcement, freeing up officers for core police work (Associated Press). Tennessee’s two Republican U.S. senators also voiced their approval. Senator Marsha Blackburn, in a statement to Newsweek, praised Trump’s decision: "Today, President Trump answered my call to do whatever it takes to Make Memphis Safe Again, and I applaud his decision to send the National Guard to Memphis following his tremendous success in reducing violent crime in Washington, D.C."
But critics, including Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy, have raised alarms about the wisdom and legality of using military troops for civilian law enforcement. "These high-profile, short-term military deployments risk seeming performative and leaving no lasting impact," Mulroy, a Democrat, told the Associated Press. Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLU’s National Security Project, cautioned, "There quite simply is no factual emergency to legitimate calling out troops to perform any kind of policing function… Using soldiers for civil law enforcement leaves our Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights… in the hands of people who are not trained to uphold them, and it can chill the exercise of our First Amendment rights."
Questions also remain about the legal underpinnings of the Memphis deployment. As of September 12, 2025, neither the White House nor state officials had clarified whether the Guard would be deployed under state or federal authority, nor had they specified the timeline or scope of the mission (Associated Press). Mayor Young, for his part, voiced uncertainty about key operational details: "When will they come? How many people are going to come? How long will they be here? What are they going to wear? Where are they going to be, geographically in the city, what assignments will they have? Those are all questions that we have and that we are going to work through together as a community." (Newsweek)
Trump’s approach to deploying the National Guard has not been limited to Memphis. In June 2025, he sent troops to Los Angeles over the objections of California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, putting the state’s Guard under federal control to protect federal property during protests. A similar deployment occurred in Washington, D.C., where the President has direct authority over the Guard. In both cases, the moves were controversial and, in California’s case, led to legal action. Trump has also mused about sending troops to other Democratic-led cities, including Chicago, Baltimore, and New Orleans, but has faced stiff resistance from local leaders. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat, was blunt in his assessment: "It’s disturbing that the president is hellbent on sending troops onto America’s streets. Using those who serve in uniform as political props is insulting. None of this is normal." (Associated Press)
Advocates of the Memphis deployment argue that National Guard support can free up federal agents for core enforcement work and bring additional resources to bear on stubborn crime problems. Opponents, however, warn that such moves risk politicizing the military, infringing on local authority, and eroding civil liberties.
As Memphis braces for the arrival of the National Guard, city officials and residents find themselves navigating a complex intersection of public safety, politics, and constitutional rights. The coming weeks will reveal whether the deployment marks a turning point in the city’s fight against crime—or another chapter in America’s ongoing struggle to balance security and civil liberty.
