National guard units patrol Memphis as Trump faces fierce new legal challenges

National guard troops were seen patrolling in Memphis for the first time yesterday as part of Donald Trump's controversial federal taskforce, amid fierce legal challenges as he was blocked from sending troops to Chicago and a court ruling is awaited in Portland, Oregon.

- Guardian staff

Authorities in Memphis did not request federal troops, but Tennessee's Republican governor, Bill Lee, supported the move. It was unclear yesterday how many troops were on the ground or expected to arrive.

On Wednesday, the Memphis police chief, Cerelyn “CJ” Davis, had said she hoped guard personnel would help direct traffic and have a presence in “retail corridors”, but not be used to operate checkpoints or anything similar - the kind of situation Washington DC experienced.

The national guard is part of the military and can be deployed overseas or domestically. While a US president can deploy the guard under certain authorities, Trump is testing the limits of those powers by sending them to cities controlled by his political opponents. Chicago and Illinois, run by Democratic elected leaders, say Trump has exceeded his authority and ignored their pleas to keep the national guard off their streets.