Two major cities — Memphis, Tennessee, and Raleigh, North Carolina — are at the center of controversy over troop deployments and immigration enforcement.
Memphis: A Tennessee judge has issued a temporary restraining order blocking Governor Bill Lee’s activation of the National Guard in Memphis. Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal ruled that Lee “acted beyond his authority,” saying that under Tennessee law, such a deployment requires either a request from local government or a declaration by the General Assembly — and that crime conditions in the city don’t meet the standard of a “grave emergency.”
This move came at the request of President Donald Trump, who directed the creation of a “Memphis Safe Task Force” to address violent crime. The judge’s ruling doesn’t take effect immediately — Lee has a five-day window to appeal. Importantly, the injunction applies to the state National Guard deployment but does not halt a broader federal task force in Memphis, which includes agents from the FBI, DEA, ATF, and Guard support.
Raleigh: Federal Border Patrol agents are set to deploy to Raleigh starting Tuesday. This deployment follows a series of arrests over the weekend in Charlotte, where more than 130 people were detained in what’s being called “Operation Charlotte’s Web.”
City officials expressed concern that the operation was not coordinated with local authorities and emphasized that Raleigh’s property crime and violent crime are down this year. Local leaders, including those in Durham and Wake County, are urging calm even as community fears rise over civil rights and public safety.