US President Donald Trump on Monday, September 15, signed an order sending National Guard troops to the city of Memphis, in the latest stage of his crime crackdown that critics have branded authoritarian.
Trump said the task force would be a "replica" of the one he sent into the capital Washington in August.
"The effort will include the National Guard as well as the FBI" and other federal agencies, Trump told reporters at a signing ceremony in the Oval Office, adding that it was "very important because of the crime that's going on." The Republican added that "we're gonna be doing Chicago probably next."
Shortly before Trump's announcement, the White House said on social media that the Memphis total crime rate was higher than the national average and suggested that the rate had increased since last year, bucking national trends.
That's despite Memphis police recently reporting decreases across every major crime category in the first eight months of 2025 compared to the same period in previous years. Overall crime hit a 25-year low, while murder hit a six-year low, police said.
Despite the overall decrease, Memphis has dealt with stubborn gun violence problems for years. In 2023, the city set a record with more than 390 homicides.
The president has claimed troop deployments and deportation raids in Washington and Los Angeles have saved the cities from immigrant crime − one of his key election pledges.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi said at the signing ceremony that federal agencies would use the "highly successful" Washington model to "Make Memphis Safe Again."
Trump has so far targeted Democratic-run cities in his crackdown.
Memphis, a Black-majority city in Tennessee, has a Democratic mayor, while Tennessee state has a Republican governor.
The Trump administration last week launched a new immigration enforcement operation in Chicago to target what it called the "worst of the worst criminals."
Trump has repeatedly threatened to send National Guard troops into the city, sparring with Illinois state Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat, in social media posts.