More than 10,000 suspects have been arrested in Memphis, Tennessee, since last fall as part of a sweeping anti-crime operation.
The U.S. Marshals Service said on Wednesday that the Memphis Safe Task Force arrested another 42 people on Tuesday, bringing the total to 10,000 arrests since September 2025. The multi-agency partnership also has recovered 1,708 illegal firearms so far, it added.
“This is a significant milestone for the dedicated men and women working around the clock to end street and violent crime in Memphis,” said Tyreece Miller, U.S. marshal for the Western District of Tennessee that oversees Memphis.
“By removing these illicit firearms from Memphis streets and making 10,000 arrests, we have achieved unprecedented results, not just for the Task Force, but for all the residents and visitors to our beloved city. I am extremely proud of the work they have done and that they will continue to do to fulfill the President’s pledge.”
The task force was signed into law by President Donald Trump last September, saying that Memphis had been “suffering from tremendous levels of violent crime that have overwhelmed its local government’s ability to respond effectively.” He noted that FBI data for 2024 showed the city had the highest per-capita violent crime rate in the country.
Among other mandates, the task force is also responsible for enforcing federal immigration law, increasing law enforcement presence across the city, and enforcing “quality-of-life, nuisance, and public-safety laws” such as drug possession, trespassing, vandalism, traffic violations, and public intoxication, according to the White House.
The task force isn’t without its critics. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and four residents filed a lawsuit against state and federal government officials in mid-May alleging members of the task force blocked them from filming its law enforcement and immigration activities.
One of the plaintiffs, Hunter Demster, alleged in a statement released by the ACLU that the task force had caused “real harm to my friends and neighbors” and that he was “followed, threatened, and retaliated against for exercising my rights” after recording task force officials.
Preliminary FBI data released in May has shown that violent crime across the United States fell an estimated 9.3 percent from 2024 to 2025. Murder and non-negligent manslaughter dropped around 18.1 percent, rape dropped 7.6 percent, and robberies were down 18.5 percent.
And in January, a report from the Council on Criminal Justice that had collected data from 35 American cities showed a 21 percent decrease in homicides from 2024 to 2025, translating to about 922 fewer homicides last year.