By Hanna Park, Adam Cancryn, Michelle Watson, CNN
(CNN) — President Donald Trump said Monday that he’s taking executive action to establish a “Memphis Safe Task Force” aimed at leading a crime crackdown, leaving the Tennessee city bracing for the arrival of the National Guard as his administration intensifies its efforts to crack down on crime across the nation’s major cities.
And after earlier focusing on Chicago – and then backing off – Trump said he’d send a similar task force to the Windy City next, regardless of the staunch opposition by Democrats including the city’s mayor, Brandon Johnson, and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.
The move to establish the task force in Memphis will mirror the stepped-up law enforcement effort that the federal government oversaw in Washington, DC.
The National Guard and law enforcement from several federal agencies will be dispatched to Memphis, including the FBI, ATF, DEA, ICE and Homeland Security, Trump said.
“It’s very important because of the crime that’s going on, not only in Memphis, in many cities,” Trump said Monday from the Oval Office. Joined by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, he signed a presidential memorandum creating the task force, saying it “will be a replica of our extraordinarily successful efforts here, and you’ll see it’s a lot of the same thing.”
Speaking to CNN, Memphis Mayor Paul Young said Saturday he was “not happy” about the National Guard coming, but he was looking for ways to invest in addressing crime in the city.
The deployment is part of Trump’s broader effort to expand his anti-crime push nationwide and would mark the first such effort in a Republican state, at a time when the president has faced increasing scrutiny for his targeting of Democratic-led cities.
Tennessee Republicans, including Lee, have welcomed the announcement.
“Planning is currently underway, and we will continue to work closely with federal and local partners to determine the most effective path forward,” Elizabeth Lane Johnson, Lee’s spokesperson said, according to The Associated Press.
Here’s what we know so far about the potential deployment:
Trump turns his sights on Memphis
The announcement to deploy troops to Memphis comes after weeks of speculation that Chicago was the next city to be targeted by the Trump administration. But Trump’s plans were earlier shelved after advisers warned him that sending in troops to help with local law enforcement without buy-in from the state’s governor could create legal headaches they want to avoid, sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
Young said Trump’s televised announcement on Fox News was the first definitive confirmation he heard of the plans to deploy the National Guard to his city.
Young told CNN that he learned the idea was under consideration when Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s office informed him earlier in the week. The Democratic mayor said he had been talking with the governor’s office about the possibility of getting more law enforcement presence through several federal agencies.
While many elements of the operation are still being finalized, the first troops had been expected to be deployed as soon as this week.
Young told CNN he expects more details this week, including the number of troops, their arrival date and their duties. He suggested the guard might assist with traffic control for major events, monitoring surveillance cameras, or neighborhood “beautification” efforts.
The memorandum signed by Trump does not say how many or when the troops are expected to be deployed to the city, but in a release Monday, Lee’s office said the governor had authorized over 100 Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers to Shelby County “to further support the mission.”
Besides Tennessee, the memorandum says resources from Arkansas and Mississippi could assist in the task force if deemed necessary.
In Chicago immigrant rights advocates have reported a recent increase in immigration enforcement agents, heightening anxiety in communities already concerned about the possibility of mass arrests or forceful measures, the AP reported.
“We definitely feel escalated operations are already here,” Lawrence Benito, head of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, told the AP.
‘It’s about crime’
A White House official said the president’s decision to deploy National Guard troops to Memphis was about crime.
“In 2024 Memphis had the highest violent crime rate, highest property crime rate, and third highest murder rate in the US (Trump) wants to make all cities in America safe again and it’s great that local officials in Memphis are welcoming his help,” the White House official said.
Just days before Trump’s announcement, Memphis police had reported significant progress, with drops in every major crime category in the first eight months of 2025 compared with the same period in previous years. Overall crime hit a 25-year low, and murder a six-year low, police said.
Local leaders have urged the governor to reconsider the president’s push to send National Guard troops to the city. Lee Harris, the mayor of Shelby County – where Memphis is located – called the deployment a threat to democracy and city councilmembers have called for restored federal funding for violence-prevention programs instead of a military presence.
State Rep. Justin J. Pearson, whose district includes parts of Memphis and Shelby County, said Monday “there is no red carpet being laid out” for the National Guard.
“A militarized occupation of our city is not a resolution to the problems that we have,” Pearson said at a Shelby County Democratic Party news conference Monday at Memphis city hall.
“What we need is poverty eradication, not military occupation,” Pearson said. “So don’t bring the National Guard. Give us the resources that we need for our people, for our city, for our county.”
Young noted a previous time the National Guard was deployed to Memphis, in 1968 following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The National Guard also was in Memphis in 1978 after Memphis police and firefighters’ unions went on strike.
“We don’t want to invoke those same images here,” Young told CNN, referring to the 1968 deployment.
National Guard deployments
Since deploying the National Guard to Los Angeles in June and to Washington, DC, last month, the Trump administration has threatened to send troops to several other Democratic-led cities like Baltimore and Portland, Oregon.
Trump’s decision to assert federal control over Washington’s police force and deploy the National Guard to patrol the capital marked an unprecedented move and one he claimed was necessary to fight crime. But critics have called it a “dangerous power grab.”
When asked Monday if going into St. Louis was on the table, Trump responded saying, “Yeah, we got to save St. Louis. We’ve gotta save these cities.”
While crime has decreased in Washington, DC, under the federal emergency, it’s not true that there’s “no crime,” as Trump has often repeated.
The president’s authority over DC’s National Guard and police stems from the city’s federal status, but his power doesn’t extend to states.
Trump’s earlier attempts to deploy the National Guard have faced legal challenges. In June, he sent 2,000 California Guard troops to Los Angeles against Gov. Gavin Newsom’s will, citing protests against aggressive immigration raids.
Newsom took the decision to court, where a federal judge ruled the deployment was illegal. The administration said it would appeal the decision.
Correction: A previous version of this story misspelled the last name of Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris.
The-CNN-Wire
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