In the summer of 2020, President Trump sent federal agents to Kansas City, Mo., as he blamed liberal mayors for a “shocking explosion” of “bloodshed.”
Mayor Quinton Lucas, a Democrat, bristled at the suggestion that local officials were to blame for his city’s spike in crime. And with distrust of law enforcement at a high after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis that year, he worried about how federal law enforcement officers would conduct themselves on the ground.
Yet over the next few months, Mayor Lucas came to endorse parts of the federal mission, named Operation Legend after a 4-year-old Kansas City boy who had been killed by a wayward bullet as he slept.
Working with the local police, federal agents helped track down people with open felony warrants, recovered illegal guns and charged some suspects with federal crimes that can carry stiffer penalties than those available under state law. Now, as Mr. Trump renews his promise to tackle crime in American cities, Mayor Lucas says he could imagine welcoming the help — if it came with a clear strategy.
“I’d say yes in an instant,” he said, if federal agents were sent to help keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers and teenagers, or to trace bullets used in shootings. “I’d go to the White House and have a press conference with them tomorrow.”
In interviews, many mayors and police chiefs around the country said they were put off by Mr. Trump’s recent effort to “take back” Washington, D.C., by deploying the National Guard, and they expressed concerns about the wisdom and legality of using the military to conduct domestic law enforcement.
But those same leaders said they would welcome more of the aid that federal agents routinely provide at the local level in the fight against crime — tracing guns, conducting surveillance, capturing fugitives and serving on task forces with local agencies to root out terrorism, human trafficking and drug rings.
There might even be a place for the National Guard if commanders are willing to collaborate with local law enforcement, said Chief Harold Medina of the Albuquerque Police Department. In March, Chief Medina sent a message to New Mexico’s governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham, requesting such help. He said the city was bedeviled by gun violence, fentanyl and a shortage of police officers.
As a result, about 90 Guard soldiers have been detailed to Albuquerque to watch security cameras, operate drones, help keep the public away from SWAT operations and deliver arrest paperwork to prosecutors on time. Their work has freed up local officers to spend thousands more hours on investigations, arrests and patrols.
“Best request I ever made,” Chief Medina said.
But, he cautioned, that Guard deployment was carefully plotted in advance, down to what the troops would wear (polo shirts) and how they would be armed (with pepper spray). The soldiers also received six weeks of training on topics such as de-escalation and crisis intervention.
“I’ve been able to direct what we need help with, and I think that’s the key,” he said. “You have to respect the chief.”
Many local leaders worry that the surge of federal agents Mr. Trump is now proposing could come without that kind of planning, and with additional priorities that are in conflict with the desires of cities and their residents — such as deporting people residing in the country illegally.
After its rollout in Kansas City, Operation Legend was brought to eight more cities, where the reception by local leaders ranged from lukewarm to caustic. Many feared a repeat of the crackdown on street protesters in Portland, Ore., by federal agents in unmarked vans, which had drawn widespread public opposition. In Chicago, the mayor at the time, Lori Lightfoot, opposed the operation in a letter in which she decried the use of “secret federal agents” who “do not know Chicago” and who would operate outside the chain of command.
The F.B.I. said that Operation Legend ultimately resulted in more than 6,000 arrests and the seizure of more than 2,600 guns. Those figures might not be entirely reliable; crime experts said it was difficult to tell which arrests were directly attributable to the federal program.
Brandon Johnson, the Democratic mayor of Chicago, signed an executive order last week once again resisting Mr. Trump’s vow to send troops into the city, saying he hoped to head off a flood of immigration agents deporting Chicago residents or any attempt to put “tanks in our streets.”
He said that the city’s police department must remain under local control, but noted that local officers already collaborated with federal agents, particularly in hunting down guns and drugs, as well as in human trafficking cases.
One federal service that local departments cite as particularly useful is the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ crime gun tracing, handled by 25 centers across the country that bring together federal, state and local agencies. In addition, Mayor Johnson asked for more help in preventing the flow of illegal guns into Chicago. Mr. Trump, though, has proposed slashing the bureau’s budget and roster of inspectors.
The existing collaboration with federal agencies has been cited by other cities in arguing that a dramatic show of force, such as a National Guard deployment, is not needed and could, in fact, be counterproductive.
Mayor Brandon M. Scott of Baltimore, a Democrat, noted a significant reduction in homicides so far this year and chalked that reduction up, in part, to a strong collaboration with federal agents from the A.T.F., the F.B.I. and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
“We welcome them sending more,” he said, if the administration wants to deploy more federal agents — but not National Guard troops — to Baltimore.
“We do not want an occupation, and we also want something that is sustainable,” he said.
Experts say that when it comes to law enforcement, more is not always better. Morgan Williams Jr., an economist, was a co-author of a landmark paper that found that adding more police officers resulted in decreases in homicides and other major crimes. But he emphasized that the finding did not apply to outside help. “The National Guard is not a substitute for local law enforcement,” he said.
And law enforcement experts say that policing without the blessing of those being policed can backfire. In recent days, Mr. Trump has alternated between insisting that he will send in federal troops whether or not they are wanted and inviting cities to request the help.
Mayor Jerry Dyer of Fresno, Calif., a former police chief and a Republican, said that he approved of the invitation approach because what works for one city may not work for another. Amid the high crime of the 1990s, the Fresno police patrolled with armored vehicles and a show of paramilitary strength, he said, but only after winning buy-in from neighborhoods that were “under siege.”
“We did not want to come in and be that occupying force,” he said, noting that such tactics could lead to a loss of trust from residents and a greater use of force by officers.
“There were many times where I shared with folks as a police chief that I could lower crime rates dramatically, if I wanted to,” he added. “But it would come at a terrible price.”
Shaila Dewan covers criminal justice — policing, courts and prisons — across the country. She has been a journalist for 25 years.
Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs reports on national stories across the United States with a focus on criminal justice. He is from upstate New York.
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