The Trump administration isescalating effortsto deploy federal law enforcement officers in several Democratic-led cities, as part of what it calls a crackdown to address crime and restore order. President Donald Trump has described these deployments as a potential "training ground" for the military, with Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland among the targeted cities. While the White House views protests in Portland, Oregon, as an opening to bolster Trump's federal crime agenda, Democratic leaders nationwide are pushing back, arguing the moves are politically motivated and unnecessary. While the federal government remainsshut downafter a deadlocked Congress failed to reach a deal on funding, most of thefederal law enforcement agentsand members of theNational Guardwill be working without pay, though they would receive back pay after the shutdown ends. Here's a closer look at the latest developments: Federal and state officials have expanded law enforcement efforts in Tennessee's second-largest city through the Memphis Safe Task Force, which now includes at least 219 federally deputized officers. US Attorney General Pam Bondi and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited the city on Wednesday. "You are unleashed," White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller told officers Wednesday. He later put the effort in stark terms. "We are going to bulldoze the criminal elements in this city, and therefore liberate the law-abiding citizens," Miller said. The task force has made 93 arrests this week, Bondisaid on Xon Thursday morning. But the National Guard hasn't been "stood up" officially, and isn't expected to be up and running for "another couple of weeks or so," Memphis Police Chief C.J. Davis said during a community meeting Thursday. Even when they do arrive, the National Guard deployment in Memphis will look very different compared to a city like Washington, DC, she said. "Memphis is not DC. DC is 68 square miles. Memphis is 340 square miles. DC had 1500 National Guard in 68 square miles. We might get to 200, if that," Davis said. She added that the city has been very engaged in planning with the task force and making sure that after this deployment has ended, there will be a sustainable reduction in crime as opposed to "a sour taste in people's mouths about eradicating crime." "So, we talked to the individuals that are part of this plan, 'How do we sustain this?'" she said. "We're not just talking about how do we reduce crime for, you know, a few weeks." She said she spoke with the Metropolitan Police Department chief in Washington, DC, who said that during the National Guard deployment there, a lot of people just stayed inside their homes. "That will look like crime is down, won't it?" said Davis. CNN has reached out to the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington DC to respond to Davis' comments. The federal presence was visible early Wednesday as law enforcement – some in FBI vests – gathered near a county jail. Around 100 vehicles, including RVs and command trucks marked with US Marshals Service and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation logos, were parked in nearby lots and fields. The law enforcement ramp-up will not be affected by the ongoing federal government shutdown, Bondi said. "We don't shut down because President Trump knows crime doesn't stop, and you don't stop," said the attorney general. Miller encouraged local police to take advantage of the extra federal manpower being embedded with them. "We are sending in real cops with guns and badges to go out with you on the streets every single night to make arrests," he said Wednesday. A CNN crew observed uniformed military personnel flanked by Humvees at a makeshift command center – roughly two weeks afterTrump announcedplans to deploy the National Guard to the city. CNN has reached out to the National Guard for details on its deployment timeline. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, who supports the federal effort, said no more than150 National Guardmembers are expected to be deployed, noting that troops would not be armed or make arrests unless requested by local authorities. The deployment comes as the city has grappled withviolent crime,including persistently high rates of homicides and carjackings, in recent years. Even so, both Democratic and Republican officials have pointed to declines in some crime categories this year. "We want to cooperate. We want to be supportive of domestic civilian law enforcement agencies," Mayor Paul Young, a Democrat, told CNN's John Berman on Thursday. "I think the problem is the presence of the National Guard." Young said the city still hasn't gotten a clear answer from President Trump on how many military assets are coming or what they will be tasked with doing. "I am fearful of what he may do next," Young said. Prosecutors are preparing for a greater caseload if arrests surge as promised. "So far, we haven't seen anything we can't handle," Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroytold CNN affiliate WATN. "We'll be ready for it when it does." When asked by CNN whether they've seen an increase in case referrals, the district attorney's communications director, Erica R. Williams, said their office hasn't received guidance from federal partners regarding prosecutions. Williams added their office is working on a data-tracking system to monitor arrests and cases from the special unit task force and is coordinating with court officials to set up a night court in the event of an increase in cases. "The National Guard is now in place" in Portland, TrumpsaidWednesday on social media. However, the Portland mayor's press office could not immediately confirm the Guard's arrival, and Portland Police Chief Bob Day suggested Trump's claim may be exaggerated in an interview with CNN on Wednesday evening. "We believe they'll probably be deployed in the coming days, but they're not in place right now," Day told CNN's Kaitlan Collins. "They're receiving some additional training." The police chief also questioned the necessity of deploying the National Guard, saying, "We're talking about one city block" – a reference to the area around an ICE detention facility in Portland that has been the focus of largely peaceful protests for months. Although the Trump administration hasframedthose protests as "violent riots" tied to "Antifa domestic terrorists," a person familiar with White House strategytold CNNthat the deployment in Portland is part of Trump's broader crackdown on crime. The ICE protests simply gave them an easier justification. "We don't need an excuse to go into any city. The president has the legal authority to do it," one White House official said of Portland. "But if he did need one, these dangerous riots are a prime example." "Federalized members of the Oregon National Guard are prepared to support U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other U.S. Government personnel who are performing federal functions, including the enforcement of federal law, and to protect federal property in Oregon," Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Sean Parnell told CNN in a statement. Some 200 federalized Guard troops have been assigned to the operation,accordingto the Oregon Military Department. While federalized, the soldiers will no longer report to state leadership, according to a letter sent by Brig. Gen. Alan R. Gronewold, Oregon's adjutant general, to the state's National Guard personnel on Monday. "They answer to U.S. Northern Command – not to me and not to Governor Kotek. Different authority, and a different chain of command," the letter said. "I know some of you may have strong feelings about this mission. That's okay. You are citizens first, but you're also service members who took an oath to support and defend the Constitution and follow the orders of the President and the Governor," Gronewald wrote. The guardsmen being deployed to Portland will first spend several days at a facility nearly 100 miles away from the site of the protests in order to prepare and receive training, Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkleytold CNN affiliate KGWWednesday. "I'll be honest with you – I know this isn't easy. Some people in Oregon won't understand or won't support this mission. Some might even be hostile about it," Gronewald wrote. "But we've been through tough situations before. We are professionals who do our duties, regardless of how it's received." State and city officials arechallenging the deployment, arguing this week in a federal lawsuit that having troops on the ground is unnecessary. "There is no insurrection," Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said Saturday. "There is no threat to national security, and there is no need for military troops in our major city." Calling the deployment "unlawful," Kotek said taxpayers could be on the hook for $10 million for the costs associated with deploying 200 troops for 60 days, according to the Oregon Military Department. "Our country and our state should be focused on solving real problems," Kotek said in anews release. "Wasting an estimated $10 million on made-up problems is an insult to Americans who are struggling with the cost of living, access to affordable health care, safety in their neighborhoods, and more." CNN has reached out to the Pentagon for comment. On Thursday, US District Judge Michael H. Simon recused himself from the case after the Trump administration requested it in a filing earlier in the day. The administration's filing said it wanted to "avoid the appearance of partiality" as Simon's wife, US Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, a Democrat who represents parts of Portland, recently made commentscriticizing the deployment. In his order, Simon said he doesn't think the recusal is required under law, but wants the focus to stay on "the critically important constitutional and statutory issues presented." US District Judge Karin J. Immergut will take over the case, according to a filing. A hearing set for the case Friday morning will go on as scheduled. While protests in Portland have largely been calm since mid-summer, tensions reignited Tuesday night outside the ICE facility. Video shows the moment an officer in camouflage and tactical gear approaches an individual, after which another officer tackles the person, restrains them with plastic handcuffs, and leads them away. It remains unclear who initiated the encounter. Federal officers carried four people into the ICE facility on Tuesday night, according toCNN affiliate KATU. One was soon released, and it was "not immediately clear what charges, if any, they faced," the station reported. Six people were arrested at the facility Tuesday night, with charges including assaulting law enforcement, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement, noting one officer was hospitalized. In Chicago, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said Monday the Trump administration plans to deploy 100 military troops to the state to protect ICE facilities. "What I have been warning of is now being realized," Pritzkersaidat a news conference, offering no further details. CNN has reached out to the Pentagon for confirmation. Trump had earlier suggested Chicago could be the next target of a National Guard deployment but has since backed off out of concern that doing so without Pritzker's agreement could create legal headache, sources familiar with the mattertold CNNlast month. Instead, the administration has used civilian law enforcement agents in its crackdown on immigrants and demonstrators. Last Friday, agents in Chicago reportedly fired tear gas and pepper balls toward a crowd ofover 100 protestersoutside an ICE facility in Broadview, west of Chicago, after some attempted to block a car near the site. Similar clashes have occurred in recent weeks, with demonstrators blocking agents' vehicles from entering and exiting the facility. Local and state law enforcement established a temporary unified command Thursday to coordinate public safety measures in the area, allowing for protesters to gather and immigration attorneys and others to access the facility as needed, Illinois State Police said in a news release. Officials have established designated areas where people are allowed to protest to "enable the peaceful expression of First Amendment rights," according to the release. "The agencies involved in this operation will neither assist nor obstruct enforcement of federal immigration statutes in compliance with state and federal law," the release said. Border Patrol agents made arrests in a high-profile sweep near downtown Chicago landmarks over the weekend, the Associated Pressreported, as some of the agency's speedboats patrol the Chicago River. The president of the Chicago Teachers Union says some children are now afraid to go to school. "We are seeing attendance rates drop," Stacy Davis Gates told CNN's Sara Sidner on Thursday. "We are seeing parents and family members detained after they drop their young people off at school." On Tuesday, Pritzker suggested Trump should be removed from office,CNN affiliate WBBM reported. "There is something genuinely wrong with this man, and the 25th Amendment ought to be involved," Pritzker said, referring to the part of the Constitution that provides a way to remove a president if he is "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office." "President Trump is deeply concerned with the safety and security of all Americans, including those in Chicago – and he's stepping in where J.B. failed," White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told CNN in response to Pritzker's comments. Since deployingthe National Guard to Los Angeles and to Washington, DC, the Trump administration has continued to signal plans to expand such deployments, despite facing legal challenges. In June, the administration sent thousands of California Guard troops to Los Angeles against Gov. Gavin Newsom's wishes, citing protests against aggressive immigration raids. Newsom took the decision to court, wherea federal judge later ruledthe deployment was illegal. The administration is appealing the decision. CNN's Josh Campbell, Alayna Treene, Devon M. Sayers, Karina Tsui, Danya Gainor and Monique Smith contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account atCNN.com
