New Mexico deploys unarmed National Guard in Albuquerque as crime-fighting model contrasts with Trump’s D.C. crackdown
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham uses a soft-touch Guard deployment to address a fentanyl-fueled crime surge in Albuquerque, while national politics spotlight differing strategies.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has praised the National Guard for helping halt crime in Washington, D.C., but some Democratic-leaning states are adopting a similar approach with less militarized deployments. In Albuquerque, New Mexico, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham activated the National Guard after declaring a state of emergency in April because of a surge in crime and a fentanyl crisis, the Washington Post reported.
About 100 National Guard troops in Albuquerque are typically seen in khaki and polo shirts and operate without arrest authority. They are assisting local police and city agencies rather than patrolling with heavy weaponry. Their duties include directing traffic, monitoring city security camera feeds, transporting prisoners, and operating surveillance drones. The deployment targets crime-plagued areas such as Central Avenue, a main thoroughfare described locally as a high-risk zone. Albuquerque police data indicate lower crime in the deployment areas since the Guard began assisting, though officials caution that results can lag and are influenced by other factors.
In the nation’s capital, the National Guard is typically armed and patrols high-traffic areas around the National Mall, with many troops drawn from neighboring states. In Albuquerque, the soldiers come from the local community and work in unarmed roles as the state leans on civilian law enforcement rather than a heavy-security posture.
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller distanced the city from the president’s approach, publicly criticizing Trump's deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles in June as inappropriate for city policing and arguing that the military should not be used in civilian streets.
The governor last week announced a further state of emergency in Española, a town of about 10,000 residents, after local leaders asked for help addressing violent crime and drug trafficking.
Taken together, the Albuquerque effort illustrates how Democratic leadership is adapting Guard deployments to address urban crime without the visible use of force associated with the D.C. mission, while remaining part of a broader national debate about the role of the National Guard in domestic security.