From Memphis to the Southwest Border, President Trump Is Making America Safe Again
Submitted by Senator Marsha Blackburn
November 3, 2026, 1:38 p.m.

Under President Biden, Democrats waged a war on law enforcement, demonizing our brave officers while working to defund police. For four years, we saw the devastating results: rising crime, demoralized departments, and Americans increasingly unsafe in their own communities.

	Senator Marsha Blackburn

President Trump promised to back the blue and restore law and order—and that is exactly what he has accomplished. According to the latest National Crime Victimization Survey, non-fatal violent crime dropped 25 percent across the country between 2024 and 2025. At the same time, property crime fell 19 percent, burglary 25 percent, robbery 27 percent, motor vehicle theft 30 percent, and aggravated assault 31 percent. The Bureau of Justice Statistics also foundthat homicide fell 17 percent to its lowest level in decades.

As a result, there were thousands of fewer Americans falling victim to criminals under President Trump’s first year than under Biden’s last. This success confirms a simple fact: When you enforce the law, crime goes down.

In Tennessee, we’ve seen this reality firsthand with the Memphis Safe Task Force. Under Biden, this historic, iconic city was among the most dangerous in America with our nation’s highest violent crime rate. It’s why, ahead of his Senate confirmation vote, I urged now-FBI Director Kash Patel to surge federal resources to Memphis and get this crime crisis under control.

Since then, the task force has made over 13,500 arrests, including over 1,500 known gang members; seized more than 1,300 illegal firearms; located nearly 200 missing children; and executed nearly 7,000 warrants. Across the board, crime in Memphis is down 38 percent, empowering residents to reclaim their city from criminals who operated with impunity for far too long. While Memphis serves as a model of what can be accomplished when local, state, and federal authorities work together to tackle crime, other blue cities—from Chicago to Los Angeles—have refused federal resources, jeopardizing the safety of their residents to appease their radical, far-left base. While the nationwide drop in crime is a victory for the American people, it could have been even greater if Democrats worked with the Trump administration to keep their communities safe.

Nowhere is this difference more apparent than on border security. While Democrats continue to pursue “sanctuary” policies that protect criminal illegal aliens, the Trump administration has worked overtime to secure our border and deport those who harm Americans. Last month, the Department of Homeland Security announced that fiscal year 2026 saw the lowest-ever border crossings in U.S. history. Compared with the Biden administration, apprehensions at the southwest border have fallen 95 percent. September also marked the 17th straight month with zero releases of illegal aliens into our country—the first time that has ever occurred across an entire fiscal year.

With the border secure, Immigration and Customs Enforcement  has been empowered to track down and deport some of the worst criminals in our country. In a single 10-day operation in Texas last month, ICE officers apprehended 4,170 illegal aliens, including murderers, sexual assailants, drunk drivers, and alien smugglers. Similar operations across the country have helped lower our illegal alien population by 2.3 million since January 2025, among the largest declines in American history.

Tennesseans and Americans across the country want to feel safe in their own communities—and that is only possible when the government enforces the rule of law. As long as Republicans are in charge, that is exactly what will happen.