Many Memphis, Tennessee residents are split over President Donald Trump’s approval to deploy the National Guard to fight crime in the city.

On Monday, President Trump signed a memorandum establishing the “Memphis Safe Task Force” to address crime in Memphis. The task force includes the National Guard, the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said the task force will “accelerate the positive momentum” of “Operation Viper,” an ongoing FBI mission that Lee says has led to the arrest of hundreds of violent criminals since July.

“We’ve made significant investments to address crime throughout my seven years in office, and thanks to President Trump’s leadership, the Memphis Safe Task Force will ensure we have every resource at our disposal to create significant change,” Lee said. 

Memphis business owner Joe Morrow said “crime is bad for business.” With large companies like Google and xAI building data centers in the area, Morrow said something still must be done to solve the city’s crime.

However, Morrow questions whether a National Guard deployment is the answer to solving the city’s lingering crime. 

“We’ve got law enforcement here already. We’ve got state troopers that they’ve sent in. We have the FBI here. Different things. The National Guard is just another form of law enforcement,” Morrow said. “Deployment comes with orders. What are the orders that they have when they’re coming here? Am I going to be looked at… as a human being? Or am I something on the list of deployment that is a target or a threat? Which I’m not.”

Some Memphis residents think the police department, Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers and FBI are effectively fighting crime.  (Fox News)

Michael Kuntzman, a Memphis bar manager, was also concerned that a National Guard presence would hurt the city’s nightlife that his bar relies on. 

“I think having a show of force like that will definitely affect nightlife, where people won’t be out if there are bright lights and National Guard in camo everywhere,” Kuntzman said. “I know, I’ll be at the house if that’s the case.”

Trump several weeks ago threatened to send the National Guard to Chicago but was met with strong resistance from Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. Trump insisted on Tuesday that Chicago is the National Guard’s next stop.