Gov. Bill Lee announced federal partners would begin arriving in Memphis the week of Sept. 29 as part of the “Memphis Safe Task Force” ordered by President Donald Trump earlier in the month.
At a press conference in Memphis on Sept. 26, Lee said the effort would involve 13 agencies ranging from the FBI and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency to the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
“We will begin operations for the ‘Memphis Safe Task Force’ next week,” Lee said.
Lee said the effort would involve National Guard troops, though he said it was not yet determined how many troops would be in the city. Lee added they would not be making arrests and said they would not be armed unless local law enforcement requests that they be armed.
Governor Bill Lee speaks at a press conference with Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis and Mayor Paul Young behind him to discuss the deployment of the National Guard and other state and local resources to Memphis in Memphis, Tenn., on September 26, 2025.
He said the infusion of federal resources would happen in phases and “sustained over weeks and months.”
“What matters to us most is that this is a sustained effort,” he said.
Memphis Mayor Paul Young said “success is the only option” for the task force operation and that it was his goal to ensure the resources being deployed to the city were used in a way that makes the most positive impact.
Lee also announced that the state would be investing $100,000 million in grants for public safety efforts in Memphis, in addition to the federal manpower being deployed.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Here’s when federal agencies, National Guard will arrive in Memphis