American Oversight Investigating Trump’s National Guard Deployment in Memphis, Other Cities

On Monday, American Oversight filed two dozen Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for records related to President Trump’s recent memorandum authorizing the deployment of National Guard troops, as well as federal law enforcement and immigration enforcement officials, to Memphis, Tennessee. The filing is the latest effort in the nonpartisan watchdog’s investigation to shed light on the administration’s abuse of federal power and normalization of military presence on the streets of U.S. cities.

“The deployment of armed troops to patrol American cities is an extraordinary act that must not be normalized. Crime is on the decline in Memphis, and the public — including local residents — deserve the truth about why the president has chosen to send soldiers into their neighborhoods,” said Chioma Chukwu, Executive Director of American Oversight. “Put plainly, our military should not be policing everyday people. We have laws and safeguards for a reason — to protect against such abuses of power and prevent any one president from overstepping. By ignoring those guardrails, the president is not only threatening our freedom but also weakening the checks and balances that keep our democracy safe. Transparency is essential to understanding how he is trampling the law in a shameful bid to seize control and consolidate executive power.”

Trump signed the order in the Oval Office alongside Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, directing a task force modeled on the federal deployment to Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles — efforts that have raised serious questions about the president’s expansive claims of authority. While Memphis Mayor Paul Young has said he welcomes help addressing crime, which has recently declined across major categories, he expressed a preference for targeted federal resources over a military presence in the city.

Experts warn that repeated use of military forces in non-emergency situations erodes critical safeguards that separate civilian law enforcement from military power, which conditions the public to accept an expanded domestic military role, weakening democratic norms and creating openings for authoritarian abuse of power. The consequences are not abstract: In Washington, D.C., National Guard documents show that residents described troops’ presence as “leveraging fear” rather than providing security, fueling a sense of shame among veterans and driving a wedge between communities and those who serve them. In Los Angeles, Guard members and Marines confided to their families that they felt like political pawns, and many questioned why their service was being used against their own communities.

Additionally, the mission on the ground is unclear for many. In Los Angeles, nearly 5,000 National Guard and Marine troops were deployed to respond to protests over immigration raids, yet fewer than one in five were ever “on the ground” in the city itself — most were housed 30 miles away at Los Alamitos in massive tents without a clear mission. Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., more than 2,200 Guard members have been tasked under a declared “crime emergency” with cosmetic beautification: mulching cherry trees, clearing homeless encampments, and hauling trash.

This latest set of FOIA requests build on American Oversight’s ongoing investigations into the Trump administration’s use of National Guard troops and federal officials in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles, and consideration of deployments to other cities including Baltimore, Chicago, and New Orleans. In late August, the nonpartisan watchdog filed suit against the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service for failing to expedite the release of records related to President Trump’s unprecedented federal power grab targeting the nation’s capital as part of his escalating anti-immigrant agenda.