I n the span of two weeks, three scenes unfolded that captured the new face of law enforcement in America. In Memphis, National Guard troops and federal agents arrived under the banner of the Trump Administration-backed Memphis Safe Task Force, setting up a staging area and vowing to “restore public safety and order.”
In Chicago, a pre-dawn raid on a South Shore apartment building left dozens arrested, children detained, and families displaced, as neighbors described a military-style operation that tore through their community. And in Portland, protesters faced federal officers wielding batons, firing tear gas, and rounding up demonstrators as part of a renewed effort to assert control over the city’s ICE detention center.
Together, these moments signal a growing normalization of armed, federalized policing inside American cities. In their wake, many Americans are justifiably alarmed and shocked by the scale of government force. Citizens are uneasy about how far Trump and his administration are willing to go in the name of law and order…