WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has ordered National Guard troops into Memphis as part of his wider crime crackdown.
He signed the order at the White House on Monday, saying the move was needed because of rising crime in the city. Critics, however, have condemned the decision, calling it heavy-handed and 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: “We’re gonna be doing Chicago probably next.”
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 Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat, in social media posts.
