MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) \u2014 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller on Wednesday rallied members of a federal law enforcement task force that has begun operating in Memphis as part of President Donald Trump\u2019s crime-fighting plan for the city.<\/p>\n
The officials met with Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican who has supported the project, before touring a staging area for the Memphis Safe Task Force and then speaking to a group of federal, state and local law enforcement officers and Tennessee National Guard members. <\/p>\n
Miller called the task force an \u201call of government, unlimited support operation\u201d that would make the city \u201csafer than any of you could ever possibly imagine.\u201d He predicted that \u201cbusinesses and investment are going to pour in, and Memphis will be richer than ever before.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not here to second guess you,\u201d Hegseth told them. \u201cWe\u2019re here to have your back \u2014 to unleash you to do your jobs so you come home safely.\u201d<\/p>\n
Democratic U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, who represents Memphis in Congress, said he was disappointed to learn about the visit in the media. In a letter to Hegseth and Bondi, he urged them to be more collaborative and expressed concern about the \u201cwartime rhetoric\u201d coming from the Trump administration.<\/p>\n
\u201cMemphians are not enemies; they are Americans,\u201d Cohen said. \u201cThey are entitled to constitutional rights, not their government working to \u2018intimidate, demoralize, hunt and kill\u2019 them. We are not a training ground or target practice.\u201d<\/p>\n
The task force is part of a larger effort by Trump to use National Guard troops and surge federal law enforcement in cities, particularly ones controlled by Democrats. Following troop deployments in the District of Columbia<\/a> and Los Angeles<\/a>, he referred to Portland, Oregon, as \u201cwar-ravaged\u201d and threatened apocalyptic force<\/a> in Chicago. Speaking Tuesday to U.S. military leaders in Virginia, Trump proposed using cities as training grounds<\/a> for the armed forces.<\/p>\n Arrests begin in Memphis<\/p>\n Bondi said in a social media post earlier in the day that the task force has made more than 50 arrests over a two-day period. More than 200 officers have been deputized, including personnel from immigration and drug enforcement. They are serving criminal arrest warrants and teaming with state agencies on traffic stops.<\/p>\n Memphis should expect to see an increase in warrant enforcement, especially for violent criminals, Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Ryan Guay said in an email. The Marshals Service will release periodic updates that include arrest numbers, types of charges and participating agencies, he said. <\/p>\n Tennessee National Guard troops will help Memphis Police, Lee has said, but it is unclear how soon that will begin. Lee does not expect more than 150 National Guard members<\/a> to be sent to Memphis. The city has said there will be no tanks, and the governor said troops will not make arrests or be armed unless local authorities request it.<\/p>\n Memphis has experienced high numbers of violent crimes such as carjackings and homicides in recent years, but both Democratic and Republican officials have noted decreases this year in some crime categories.<\/p>\n Opponents of the deployment<\/a> say it is an unnecessary federal occupation of a majority-Black city that instead needs more funding to address poverty and other drivers of crime. Supporters see it as a welcomed infusion of law enforcement for a city that still needs help battling violence.<\/p>\n Troops reporting for duty in Oregon<\/p>\n Across the country in Oregon, meanwhile, members of that state\u2019s National Guard reported for duty Wednesday. The troops were \u201cpreparing to support U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other U.S. Government personnel who are performing federal functions, including the enforcement of federal law, and to protect federal property in Oregon,\u201d the Pentagon said in a statement. <\/p>\n It could be several days before they are deployed to federal buildings, the Oregon Military Department\u2019s director for government and legislative affairs, Russell Gibson, told state lawmakers Tuesday. The troops will come from a military police company and an infantry company, he said.<\/p>\n Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield is attempting to block the deployment, with a hearing in the case scheduled for Friday. <\/p>\n Immigration arrests in Chicago<\/p>\n Federal agents have conducted hundreds of immigration arrests in Chicago since last month, primarily through traffic stops<\/a> and targeting day laborers<\/a> and homes in predominantly Latino and immigrant-heavy neighborhoods<\/a>.<\/p>\n At least 37 people were arrested early Tuesday at an apartment building in the predominantly Black South Shore neighborhood. The location was chosen due to alleged connections to the Tren de Aragua<\/a> gang, the Department of Homeland Security said. <\/p>\n Immigrant rights activists called it further escalation of an operation that has seen armed Border Patrol agents<\/a> make arrests at famous downtown landmarks. Illinois leaders say they are also bracing for the administration to dispatch military troops<\/a>.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Loller reported from Nashville, Tennessee. Associated Press writers Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon, and Sophia Tareen in Chicago contributed. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MEMPHIS, Tenn. 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