Federal agents will start arriving in Memphis as early as next week, Gov. Bill Lee of Tennessee said, after President Trump signed an order creating a federal task force and authorizing use of the National Guard in the city as part of a broader crackdown on crime.
More than a dozen federal agencies, as well as members of the National Guard and the Tennessee Highway Patrol, are expected to come to the city over the coming days, Mr. Lee said on Friday at a news conference. He declined to say exactly how many troops might come, saying only that they would play a “critical support role” to local law enforcement.
Mr. Trump and his administration have taken an aggressive stance against crime across the country in recent months and singled out cities led by Democrats as possible targets for National Guard deployment. Mr. Lee, a Republican, unlike Democratic leaders in California and Illinois, has been more receptive.
The task force in Memphis will be overseen by the U.S. Marshals Service, Mr. Lee said, and is intended to be a “sustained” effort over the coming weeks, without a declaration of emergency. The National Guard troops, he said, would not be able to make arrests and would carry weapons only if requested by other law enforcement.
“We have a generational opportunity to make this city a safe city once again,” Mr. Lee said. He also said that $100 million in state grants would be dedicated to public safety efforts in Memphis, adding that “the goal is lasting safety.”
Mayor Paul Young, a Democrat, and Chief Cerelyn Davis of the Memphis Police Department joined him for the conference, presenting a unified front in support of the resources. It was the first time that the three had provided an update on what the federal task force and National Guard presence might look like since Mr. Trump signed the order this month.
“My goal is to make sure that as resources come into our community, we find ways to use them effectively and for the benefit of the residents of our great city,” Mr. Young said.
The city of Memphis also published a website that officials said would serve as a hub for updates on the task force and answer questions. Among the preemptively answered questions, reflecting some concerns among Memphians, is confirmation that anyone with the National Guard will wear standard uniform and will not be masked.
There is also a series of crime statistics, as the city has repeatedly stressed that crime rates have dropped in recent months.
“We’re looking forward to the results,” Chief Davis said, adding that the additional staffing would be part of “advancing the work” that the police had already been doing.
Emily Cochrane is a national reporter for The Times covering the American South, based in Nashville.
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