Trump administration positions Tennessee, Memphis Safe Task Force as models for national strategy

President Donald Trump and multiple members of his administration gathered in Memphis on Monday to praise the efforts of the federal agents and National Guard members who have patrolled the city’s streets on Trump’s orders since September. 

Trump and his cabinet members, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and FBI Director Kash Patel, also emphasized Tennessee’s role as a testing ground and model for the administration’s Make America Safe Again objectives, and extolled their allyship with Tennessee leaders.

In the roughly six months since Trump created the Memphis Safe Task Force — a multi-agency collaboration billed as targeting violent street crime — it has logged 7,342 arrests and 1,208 seized firearms.

“In another two months, three months, I think … you’re going to be an almost crime-free city,” Trump said, celebrating a year-over-year 43% crime reduction, which he attributed to the task force. 

The drop in crime continues trends that predated the task force’s creation. 

Overall crime was at a 25-year low in September, according to a news release published by the Memphis Police Department six days before Trump issued the executive order establishing the task force. Murder was at a 6-year low, aggravated assault at a 5-year low, and sexual assault at a 20-year low.

Trump applauded Gov. Bill Lee, who joined him on stage at the Tennessee Air National Guard 164th Airlift Wing on Monday, and Memphis Mayor Paul Young, who did not attend the event.

“You have now developed a reputation as a city that’s coming back stronger than any city in the country,” he said.

Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons said the model used in Memphis is “delivering real results.”

“If more cities would just take the lead, have the strength and constitution like (Gov. Bill Lee) does, to make their major city safe again, this is a prime example of how to do it,” Lyons said.

Lee said he believes “great things lie ahead” for Memphis.

“There’s a lot of work yet to be done … we are working together with the General Assembly to create legislation that will make certain that this is a lasting effect for our city,” he said.

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton also received kudos from the president for his work with White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller to “pass model bills that will be tough on crime to deliver permanent safety on the streets of Memphis.”

The slate of bills, dubbed the “Immigration 2026” agenda, is being spearheaded by Republican leaders in the state’s House and Senate. One bill would create a state crime for immigrants who remain in Tennessee after receiving a final deportation order. The bill is designed to trigger a challenge in the Supreme Court.

“They’re looking at this all over the country, what you’re doing,” Trump said. “That’s why I know your name so well … so I hope you do a great job.”

Sexton responded with praise for Trump and the “brilliant mind” of Miller.

Sexton said beyond the slate of immigration bills, “we’re going to Soros-proof the state of Tennessee, once and for all,” in a reference to George Soros, an investor and philanthropist who donates to progressive causes.

The task force’s arrests included 44 arrests for homicide, 812 for controlled substances, 6,402 for firearms violations and 94 for sex offenses, according to data released by the U.S. Marshals Service on March 20. Those arrested include 206 juveniles and 757 “known gang members.” 

The Lookout has been unable to independently verify task force claims.

Task force members have also located 150 missing children, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.

But community groups and Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris have said the task force’s presence is causing a chilling effect, particularly in neighborhoods that have experienced repeated dragnets involving local and state law enforcement paired with immigration officers.

The task force has issued 17,906 traffic citations as of March 22, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. This statistic was not mentioned during the two-hour event.

The total cost to support the task force’s operations in Memphis is unclear.

It costs an estimated $226 million for pay, allowances, and benefits to activate up to 1,000 members of the Tennessee National Guard in Memphis for a year, according to a Sept. 18 memo issued by Undersecretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby. The memo was filed as part of Tennessee’s defense in an ongoing lawsuit brought by Harris and several Democratic lawmakers challenging the presence of the Tennessee National Guard in Memphis.

Anita Wadhwani contributed.