{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://cohen.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-cohen-says-national-guard-wont-solve-memphis-endemic", "Congressman Cohen Says National Guard Won\u2019t Solve Memphis\u2019 Endemic Problems", "2025-09-12", "2025", "2025-09", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", "cohen", "https://cohen.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "MEMPHIS \u2013 Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today responded to President Trump\u2019s decision to deploy the National Guard in Memphis with the following statement:\n\n\u201cFirst, I had hoped the National Guard would not be deployed here. Mayor Young told me earlier this week that it was a possibility and that, if Governor Lee decided to send them, he would work to use them in a manner that is secondary and supportive of the police.\n\n\u201cMemphis is not \u2018a troubled city,\u2019 as President Trump has said. We have a crime problem. We do have problems that may be \u2018endemic,\u2019 but they are the result of centuries of racial discrimination, including slavery that separated families without educational opportunities. Even after they were freed, they faced Jim Crow discrimination in the South. These are the historical facts. What Memphis needs is consistent federal investment in police protection with additional, permanent patrols and community policing to establish relationships. We need programs like the Minority Business Development Center that Trump\u2019s Commerce Department just eliminated which helped create jobs and capital accumulation.\n\n\u201cIn the short run, the Guard can help the police in a supportive role. In the long run, Memphis needs federal dollars invested in proven programs.\n\n\u201cD.C. has been my second home for 19 years. I have a condo and a car, and I live in the city after work (not in my office). I do not perceive any change in the level of safety since Trump\u2019s deployment of the National Guard in D.C. The president recently went out to a restaurant in D.C. and said that it is now the safest town in the world, and that it is safe to walk anywhere. That\u2019s not true. There have not been \u2018many arrests of very bad people,\u2019 as he puts it. Most of the arrests are for low-level offenses. While D.C. crime is bad, it was declining and doesn\u2019t differ much from national trends.\n\n\u201cFor Memphis, major investments in proven programs will make a difference; deploying the National Guard through a short publicity stunt will not. I certainly hope this not a facade for increased ICE enforcement in Memphis. That\u2019s what I think this is about, and that would harm our local economy, particularly the tourist and construction industries. This is all about Trump showing the world that he\u2019s a tough guy. This is the Trump Show 2.0.\u201d\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:10:29Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://cohen.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-cohen-says-national-guard-wont-solve-memphis-endemic"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.8860050477087498, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}