On Friday, National Guard troops were seen for the first time patrolling Memphis as part of President Trump’s federal task force, which is facing multiple legal challenges.
At least nine National Guard troops began patrolling Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid, an iconic Memphis landmark. They were escorted by Memphis police officers and posed for photos with visitors outside.
It’s unclear how many Guard members are on the ground or if they are expected to arrive later.
At Wednesday’s NAACP Memphis Forum, Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “CJ” Davis said she wants troopers to help direct traffic and be present in “retail corridors,” but not to operate checkpoints or anything like that.
“From a public safety standpoint, we try to utilize our guards in non-enforcement roles, so we don’t feel like there’s over-militarization going on in our communities and neighborhoods, and that’s not where we’re putting our resources,” she said.
Memphis Mayor Paul Young (D) said he never asked the Guard to come to Memphis. But after President Trump announced it Sept. 15 and Republican Gov. Bill Lee agreed, Young and other officials said they wanted the task force to focus on targeting violent criminals rather than using its presence to scare, harass or intimidate the public.
Over the years, Memphis has dealt with incidents such as assaults, carjackings and murders. Although this year’s statistics show improvement in some categories, such as homicide, many agree that violence remains a problem.
Federal officials say they have made hundreds of arrests and conducted more than 2,800 traffic stops since the task force began operating in Memphis on Sept. 29. Categories of arrests include active warrants, drug, firearms and sex crimes, the U.S. Marshals Service said. According to the Sheriff’s Office, four people have been arrested on suspicion of murder.
Ongoing legal battle
Friday’s developments came a day after a federal judge in Illinois blocked the deployment of troops to the Chicago area for at least two weeks.
The on-again, off-again deployments stem from political and legal battles over President Donald Trump’s push to deploy the National Guard to several U.S. cities. The administration claims that crime is rampant in these cities, even though the statistics do not necessarily support it.
The Insurrection Act allows the president to send active-duty troops to states that have failed to quell an insurrection or violated federal law, but a Chicago judge said Thursday he found no substantial evidence of a “risk of insurrection” in Illinois during President Trump’s immigration crackdown.
The ruling was a victory for Democratic officials who lead the state and city.
“The court confirmed what we all know: There is no credible evidence of insurrection in Illinois. And there is no place for the National Guard on the streets of American cities like Chicago,” said Gov. JB Pritzker.
Illinois’ order is set to expire Oct. 23 at 11:59 p.m., and U.S. District Judge April Perry has set a hearing for Oct. 22 to determine whether it should be extended for another 14 days.
In his ruling, he said the government violated the 10th Amendment, which gives certain powers to the states, and the 14th Amendment, which guarantees due process and equal protection.
It was not clear what the 500 Guard members from Texas and Illinois would do next. Most of them were stationed at the U.S. Army Reserve Center in Elwood, southwest of Chicago. A small number of people were outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Broadview Thursday. The building has been the site of occasional clashes between protesters and federal agents for weeks.
U.S. Northern Command officials directed questions to the Pentagon, which cited its policy not to comment on ongoing litigation. The unit was under the command of U.S. Northern Command and had been in operation for 60 days.
Eric Hamilton, an attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, said Thursday that the Guard’s mission is to protect federal property and government law enforcement officers in the field, not to “solve every crime in Chicago.”
The city and state say the deployment is unnecessary and illegal.
Deployment to Portland remains on hold
A federal appeals court heard arguments Thursday over whether President Trump had the authority to command 200 members of the Oregon National Guard. The president had planned to deploy to Portland, where small overnight protests were taking place mainly outside the ICE building.
A judge granted a temporary restraining order last Sunday blocking the move. Trump had mobilized California troops to Portland just hours after a judge first blocked the use of the Oregon National Guard.
Twenty-four other states with Democratic attorneys general or governors have signed on to court petitions supporting legal challenges by California and Oregon. Twenty other countries, led by Iowa, supported the Trump administration.
The president previously sent troops to Los Angeles and Washington.
In the California case, a judge said in September that the deployment was illegal. At that point, only 300 of the thousands of troops sent remained, but the judge did not order them to leave.
Sainz writes for The Associated Press. Associated Press writers Ed White in Detroit, Jeff Mulvihill in Philadelphia, Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee, and Konstantin Tropin in Washington contributed to this report.
