Trump vows National Guard surge in Memphis, promises DC-style “fix” for crime

President Donald Trump says Memphis is next on his list for a federal crime crackdown — and he’s ready to send in the National Guard to do it.

In a Fox & Friends interview, Trump called the city “deeply troubled” and said both Democratic Mayor Paul Young and Republican Gov. Bill Lee are on board.

“We’re going to Memphis… we’ll straighten that out — National Guard and anybody else we need,” he said, adding he’d “bring in the military too, if we need it.”

He also dangled New Orleans and Chicago as potential targets for future deployments, returning to one of his favorite themes about big-city crime:

“I can fix Chicago… We’ll do what we have to do.”

Trump said the idea crystalized after a conversation about Memphis crime raised by a FedEx board member — a point he later tied to Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena, who previously sat on FedEx’s board. According to Trump, Vena warned about safety in the city and urged a tougher approach.

An ICE official told NBC News that Memphis police don’t cooperate with the agency and labeled the city a “sanctuary city.” ICE didn’t respond to whether immigration enforcement will be stepped up if federal forces arrive.

The picture is complicated. FBI data show violent crime in Memphis has hovered around 15,000–16,000 incidents annually over the last five years — higher than a decade ago — but the city says the trend has turned down recently:

• Overall crime: at a 25-year low
• Robbery, burglary, larceny: also at 25-year lows
• Murder: 6-year low
• Aggravated assault: 5-year low
• Sexual assault: 20-year low

A separate January report cited 447 violent offenses in Tennessee between October and December last year involving undocumented immigrants (11 homicides). In Shelby County (home to Memphis), officials logged 59 violent and nonviolent offenses in that same period.

Trump is pitching Memphis as a replay of Washington, DC, where his emergency order temporarily federalized the police and surged federal officers. Mayor Muriel Bowser later said the influx did coincide with sharp drops in early metrics:

• Carjackings: −87% (first 20 days vs. same period a year earlier)
• Violent crime: −45%
• Overall crime: −15%

That 30-day federal takeover has expired, and the Metropolitan Police is back in charge — but federal officers remain in the city. Bowser also said MPD would stop transporting ICE detainees while federal agencies continue their own operations.

The White House didn’t provide a timeline, headcount, or which agencies would deploy. The mayor’s and governor’s offices didn’t immediately comment. Trump claimed both are “happy” with the plan; local confirmation is still pending.

Key questions ahead:

• Authority & coordination: Will this be a governor-requested Guard deployment, a federal surge of agents, or something broader?
• Metrics for success:C.-style before/after scorecards?
• Immigration enforcement: Will ICE intensify operations under the umbrella of a crime surge?
• Local buy-in: How City Hall and community leaders respond will shape how this plays on the ground.

Bottom line: Trump wants a DC sequel on the Mississippi River. Memphis’ recent declines give City Hall an argument that momentum already exists; the White House says a harder federal edge will lock those gains in. All eyes now on the when, the how — and whether the promised “fix” looks like the last one.

With input from Axios, AP, NBC News, the New York Times, CNN, and ABC News.