Governor Bill Lee said the federal Memphis Safe Task Force will remain deployed to the city “forever” during a Tuesday press conference. He also announced the total number of arrests since the deployment began has surpassed 800.
The governor confirmed the indefinite nature of the operation during remarks delivered just over two weeks after deployment of the Memphis Safe Task Force, which includes more than a dozen state and federal law enforcement agencies in addition to the National Guard.
“I think we will execute on this operation as long as it takes,” said Lee. “The way we will measure success, obviously, is by violent crime, and the reduction of that crime. We’ve just begun.”
Lee told the press, “In fact, I will tell you that it will last forever, because what we believe will happen, is the numbers of law enforcement agents from different agencies will change depending on the mission at the moment.”
The governor explained the recent “surge” of federal law enforcement, “will diminish at some point,” but said that the increased collaboration between local, state, and federal authorities will remain indefinitely.
“This operation in some ways may never end, it will just change in its scope as we execute through the mission, and obviously, the goal is to minimize, if not approach the elimination, of violent crime in the City of Memphis,” said Lee.
Lee also provided an update on the total number of arrests by the federal task force since it deployed on September 29, stating that law enforcement arrested a total of 850 violent criminals.
Potentially illustrating how much work may be ahead for the task force, Mayor Paul Young told reporters, “there were about 10,000 felony warrants in our community,” before the operation began.
“We want this effort to help us get those individuals off the streets, because we know that those are the significant drivers of violent crime in our city,” said Young, a Democrat.
The latest total reported by the governor represents another significant jump in arrests, as U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi reported just 562 arrests during a cabinet meeting last Thursday.
President Donald Trump responded to Bondi’s update with remarks that the mayor would later echo, as he stated that those being arrested in Memphis by the federal task force are “career criminals” who commit a disproportionate amount of crime.
“These people commit crimes every single day, they’re sick, and we’re taking them out,” said Trump. Adding that those determined to be illegal immigrants will be deported, the president stated, “they’re being brought back to other places, or they’re being put in jail, but they’re career criminals.”
Watch the full press conference:
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “National Guard Members” by The National Guard.
