Trump to Send Guard, Federal Agents to Memphis and New Orleans
President Donald Trump announced Friday he’s sending National Guard resources and federal agents to the Democrat-controlled cities of Memphis, Tennessee, and New Orleans, Louisiana. The move follows the administration’s takeover of police resources in Washington D.C. and a large federal surge to Chicago to help with deportations and crime-fighting.
Trump made the announcement during a lengthy, in-studio interview with “Fox and Friends.”
“I think maybe I’ll be the first to say it right now again. We’re going to Memphis,” the president said, adding that the city is “deeply troubled” and in need of assistance. “And the mayor is happy. He’s a Democrat mayor. The mayor is happy. And the governor… Tennessee. The governor is happy. Deeply troubled. We’re gonna fix that just like we did Washington.”
Memphis has one of the highest crime rates in the country. FBI statistics show 2,501 violent crimes per 100,000 people. Shelby County’s homicide rate hit 40.9 per 100,000 in 2023 — the biggest net rise among large urban counties.
The president didn’t give a timetable or detailed plan. He did say the federal government will be active in “a few” cities soon. But we’re going to straighten out the crime in these cities,” Trump said.
He also said he wants to bring down crime in New Orleans, Baltimore and Chicago. For now, he dialed back talk of using the National Guard in Chicago and picked Memphis instead.
National Guard and Marine Corps troops have been helping deportation operations in Los Angeles since they were first sent in to quell violent unrest aimed at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
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At a Friday press conference, Memphis Mayor Paul Young said the idea of a National Guard deployment had been discussed — but he only learned of the final decision by watching Trump’s interview. “I want to be clear, I didn’t ask for the National Guard and I don’t think it’s the way to drive down crime, however that decision has been made,” he said.
The mayor said he doesn’t think the Guard is the best tool to cut crime, but he will work with the administration to make sure the deployment “that “truly benefits and strengthens our community.”
The federal presence in Washington D.C. was meant to last 30 days. But Mayor Muriel Bowser has said she’ll work with the federal government to make much of it permanent after a sharp drop in violent crime.
Since President Donald Trump took control of the D.C. Metropolitan Police and sent hundreds of federal agents and National Guard members to the city, carjackings have fallen by 87 percent.
Like other big cities, D.C. saw carjacking spike after the COVID-19 pandemic, peaking in 2023 with 957 incidents. The rate had been sliding from those all-time highs in 2024 and this year, but still sat well above pre-pandemic levels until the federal intervention.
“Carjacking in DC is down 87%. ALL other categories of crime are likewise down massively since I got involved,” the president wrote in a triumphant Truth Social post on last month. “DC will soon be a CRIME FREE ZONE, in only 14 days, far faster than scheduled. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
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