U.S. President Donald Trump announced Friday that Memphis, in the state of Tennessee, will be the next city to which he will send National Guard troops as part of his campaign against “growing crime” in the streets, although he warned that he “would have preferred to go to Chicago.”
“We’re going to Memphis. Memphis is the next place. It’s deeply troubled and the mayor is happy. He’s a Democratic mayor, but he’s happy. And the governor of Tennessee is happy, although very concerned. We’re going to fix that, just like we did with Washington. I would have preferred to go to Chicago,” Trump told Fox News.
Wants to send National Guard to Memphis
In a lengthy live interview on the ‘Fox and Friends’ program, the Republican leader insisted that he will “solve” the crime problem in Memphis “with the National Guard” and the “Army as well if necessary”.
Generally, these deployments of federal troops and agents have also led to an increase in raids and arrests of immigrants or individuals who are seen as suspected of residing in the country without proper documentation.
Trump did not specify when and how he will send federal troops to Tennessee.
Decision taken after meeting strong resistance from local authorities in Chicago and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, who see the possible deployment of the National Guard to that territory as an “abuse of power”.
On Pritzker, Trump said “all he does” is attack him.
“I said, does he realize that last weekend there were 11 dead? And he keeps saying, ‘We don’t have any crime problem.’ Every weekend, they lose a lot of people. It’s out of control,” he added.
National Guard deployed in Washington
Trump’s announcement comes on the heels of ordering the deployment of some 2,000 National Guardsmen from several states to Washington D.C.
And taking control of the Metropolitan Police as part of what he claims is a fight against the “crime wave” in the city.
Where local authorities claim that crime figures were already on the decline.
At the same time, immigration raids have increased in the capital and hundreds of federal agents patrol the streets alongside the police.
This in the face of the rejection of a large part of the inhabitants of Washington D.C. and the local government.
Despite demand, it also sent to LA
Earlier, Trump ordered the deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles in response to massive, mostly peaceful protests against increased immigration enforcement.
The decision, against the wishes of Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, prompted a lawsuit by the state government to block the measure and regain control of the troops, EFE reported.
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