Memphis to host federal enforcement task force with 13 agencies, but with local differences from Washington plan
Gov. Bill Lee says Tennessee National Guard presence likely capped around 150; no tanks; federal officers from 13 agencies to arrive next week as part of a broader Memphis crime push, while City Hall signals measured expectations.
Memphis will begin receiving a federal enforcement push next week, with officers from 13 federal agencies arriving in waves over weeks and months as part of a Memphis task force announced by the Trump administration. The deployment is designed to address crime in the majority-Black city, but early blueprints show key differences from the large-scale National Guard mission deployed in Washington, D.C.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has publicly said he does not expect more than about 150 National Guard members to be sent to Memphis, though he cautioned the figure isn’t final. The city has said there will be no tanks, and Lee said Guard troops will not be armed unless local authorities request they be.
Next week, the first batch of the federal officers will arrive, with personnel from agencies ranging from immigration to drug enforcement. In total, authorities say the operation will unfold in waves over weeks and months. The Guard presence in Memphis is to be drawn from Tennessee, and the vast majority of the troops are expected to be military police trained for law enforcement. Separately, 300 Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers will operate in the region. The Guard members will not be making arrests unless a local authority authorizes such action.
The 13 agencies joining the Memphis effort include housing, health and human services components in addition to traditional law-enforcement offices. The plan outlines a multiagency approach designed to couple enforcement with social services, but local leaders emphasize that the federal presence is not framed as frontline policing alone.
Memphis differs from Washington in scale and geography. The city covers about 300 square miles and has roughly 611,000 residents, while Washington, D.C., spans about 68 square miles with roughly 702,000 residents. Memphis also attracts fewer visitors annually than the national capital. Officials say the broadened footprint means that any deployment considerations—such as patrol tactics or tourist-area exposure—must be tailored to local conditions. Some experts caution that heavy enforcement efforts can affect business and tourism, even as crime declines in some categories.
Memphis Mayor Paul Young, a Democrat, has said Washington officials described the Guard’s role there more as a large-scale neighborhood watch than frontline policing. He has said he did not seek the Guard deployment and does not anticipate a rapid crime reduction from it. He has urged a federal role in homelessness services, including housing vouchers, tiny homes and mental health support, alongside the city’s broader public-safety strategy.
The FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will be in Memphis beginning next week as part of the task force. Authorities say the operation also signals a steady federal presence, with ongoing coordination among agencies over time.
The deployment arrives as Memphis has faced high levels of gun violence in recent years. The city set a homicide-record in 2023 and has remained in the national spotlight for violent crime. But officials also note progress in some crime categories. Through the first eight months of 2025, Memphis police reported overall crime at a 25-year low and murders at a six-year low compared with previous years. A Council on Criminal Justice study of roughly 30 to 40 U.S. cities found that Memphis’ homicide rate was among the highest from 2018 through mid-2025, rising 58% in the first half of 2025 compared with the pre-pandemic first half of 2019, while the broader average for large cities studied showed a 14% decrease. Memphis nonetheless posted a 21% drop in its homicide rate in 2025 versus its 2023 peak, with declines also seen in carjackings and motor vehicle theft before those figures remained above 2019 levels.
Officials stress that even with improvements, the city and its partners must continue working to reduce crime in a way that also supports neighborhoods, business activity and essential social services. As the federal and state components of the Memphis task force take shape, local leaders have underscored that enforcement must be paired with housing, health and homelessness initiatives to address underlying conditions that contribute to crime.