In Memphis, an 'anti-crime' task force quietly turned into an ICE crackdown
An investigation reveals that a federal anti-crime task force in Memphis has been primarily utilized for immigration enforcement. Critics argue the administration is using crime as a pretext to advance its immigration agenda.
Why it matters
This highlights concerns regarding the potential misuse of federal task forces and the conflation of immigration enforcement with local crime prevention.
MEMPHIS, TENN. — When President Trump announced an anti-crime task force for Memphis last fall, federal and local officials never mentioned immigration enforcement as a goal.
But the influx of federal agents into the city has led to widespread immigration arrests — a majority without criminal convictions, according to an Institute for Public Service Reporting data analysis.
NPR reviewed arrest data and spoke with lawyers, immigrants, activists and community members to piece together the task force's impact on Memphis over the past 10 months.
It found paralyzed immigrant neighborhoods, where scenes played out reminiscent of Chicago and Minneapolis at the height of targeted federal immigration enforcement actions. Aid networks ramped up their work to help immigrants too fearful to leave their homes. Hotlines rang out with calls from panicked immigrants. And routine traffic stops led to immigration arrests.
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