To whom it may concern,
On September 29, 2025, the Memphis Safe Task Force began operations in our city at the behest of the Trump administration. For the last six months, veterans across the city have watched in abject horror as federal agencies have used military tactics to terrorize the most vulnerable members of our community.
We’ve seen children traumatized by terrifying no-knock raids. We’ve seen high schoolers taken from their families and held prisoner for simply existing as immigrants. We’ve seen groups of masked agents dressed in tactical gear swarm vehicles for minor traffic infractions. The people being targeted are not enemy combatants - these are mothers, fathers, friends and neighbors. They are members of our community.
Since the announcement of the task force, it has been carried out under the guise of fighting crime, but we know this is not its true purpose. The crime rate in Memphis was already at a 25 year low when the task force was announced. Regardless, overpolicing doesn’t create long-lasting change, as it can’t address the issue at the heart of crime. If we want to see an enduring change, we need to address the issue of poverty in Memphis. We need affordable, quality housing. We need labor rights, a living wage, and real investment in our communities. We need opportunities, not occupation.
From the beginning, this operation has actually been about the intimidation of our black and brown neighbors. An overwhelming 94% of task force arrests have been of non-white individuals. A significant majority of immigration arrests have involved people with no connection to criminal activity. This is having a chilling effect on the entire immigrant population - citizens are going hungry in their own homes, terrified that they could be mistakenly swept into the immigration system on a routine shopping trip.
It is no coincidence that the task force is operating against a backdrop of voter suppression measures. From the horrifying requirements of the SAVE Act, to the ongoing push to eliminate mail in ballots, to discussion of having ICE agents stationed at polling locations in November, the Trump administration is blatantly attempting to suppress midterm voting. It is shameful that our city’s leadership is all too happy to comply.
As veterans, we find the normalization of militarized troops on our streets deeply troubling. We see it as an unnecessary danger to the civil rights and livelihoods of all people in Memphis. We took an oath to protect this country from enemies both foreign and domestic, and we refuse to stay silent in the face of rampant authoritarianism. For that reason, we have four demands:
1. We call on Mayor Paul Young to publicly condemn the Memphis Safe Task Force and end the city’s support for the operation.
2. We call on Police Chief CJ Davis to immediately end MPD’s cooperation with the Memphis Safe Task Force.
3. We call on Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr to cancel the county’s 287g contract with ICE.
4. We call on Governor Bill Lee to withdraw the Tennessee National Guard from the streets of Memphis.
While it is only a start, these steps would put Memphis on the road to healing. We don’t have to keep going down this road. We have an opportunity to be on the right side of history.
- Vets For The 901