Image Credit: United States Marshals Service / Facebook & Congressman David Kustoff / Facebook
The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
A United States congressman is seeking a more permanent federal law enforcement presence in Memphis after the Trump administration’s Safe Task Force wraps up its mission in the city.
Representative David Kustoff (R-Tenn), whose constituents include those who live in the suburbs of Memphis as well as rural areas outside of the metropolitan area, says that the task force should be copied and implemented in other cities with high crime around the nation.
After spending time with the task force on Thursday, Kustoff said a plan should be put into place that provides continuity once the task force has finished its work.
With local law enforcement numbers being down since the task force began its mission on the streets of Memphis, Kustoff says it just makes sense to keep a “stronger federal law enforcement presence” in the area.
Having promised to work with other Tennessee officials in conjunction with the Trump administration to ensure the permanent presence of federal law enforcement, Kustoff says the arrival of the Memphis Safe Task Force last month was met with relief by his constituents.
Kustoff pointed to high rates of crime, including violent crime, in Memphis that was part of a spike in crime overall within the United States during the pandemic. Kustoff blamed the increase on the previous administration when President Joe Biden was in office.
Members of the National Guard, and various law enforcement agents have been thanked for their efforts by locals according to Kustoff.
So far, approximately twenty percent of the arrests that have been made are immigration related.
Known as the “Memphis surge,” the task force utilizes several law enforcement agencies working in tandem. The more than 30 agencies, including the FBI, DEA, ICE, Memphis Police Department, and the Tennessee Highway Patrol are led by the U.S. Marshals Service.
The operation has been responsible for over 900 arrests. Additionally, 45 children have been found that were reported missing.
Head of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation David Rausch said that the vast majority of the children were runaways and that some had been trafficked.
Memphis Mayor Paul Young said he received an encouraging report from a 5th-grade teacher who had students that lived in an apartment complex where some of the operation had taken place.
“Those fifth graders came there and said that they were really excited because they’re now going to be able to play outside all fall,” said Young.
Both Governor Bill Lee and Young have welcomed the Trump administration’s efforts. Memphis has 10,000 felony warrants that are active.
Memphis was found to have the highest crime rate out of all American cities last year by the FBI.
According to 2024 state crime data, the Memphis Police Department recorded 250 cases of murder, 753 rapes, and nearly 13,000 aggravated assaults. However, crime overall has been down the first 8 months of this year.
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
2 Responses
TRUTH and REALITY!! https://youtube.com/watch?v=6pFr0qvpxKI They can’t govern themselves.
David Kustoff’s Heritage conservative score is 81%. That’s conservative, but not all that conservative. So I would like to remind him that we conservatives are constitutionalists so we like to keep the federal government within the bounds of its enumerated powers where intrastate law enforcement is not to be found. What that means, practically speaking, is that my tax money shouldn’t be going to pay for ordinary law enforcement in cities I wouldn’t dream of living in whose citizens can’t be bothered to vote for politicians who will furnish it with effective law enforcement.