Jaiden Booth has been watching viral videos of National Guard and federal immigration agents operating in cities nationwide, paying particular attention to how people of color are treated during raids and protests. In St. Louis, where he lives, Booth said he has seen federal agents and unmarked vehicles in immigrant neighborhoods in recent months and has started preparing to help vulnerable residents. He attended a federal enforcement safety town hall hosted by local activists and immigration lawyers to learn how to monitor ICE activity. Booth opposes immigration agents or National Guard members policing communities of color, saying their presence does not make those communities safer.
Booth and some Black police officials fear that deploying troops and federal agents to cities could increase negative interactions with Black residents, including harassment or mistreatment. That concern exists even as crime in St. Louis has trended downward: the city reported decreases in violent and property crimes over the past year, and its homicide total for 2025 to date is the lowest in years — 123 murders so far this year compared with 224 in 2020, according to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. Still, President Trump has argued that cities such as St. Louis need outside help to address crime, saying in a recent Oval Office interview, “We’ve got to save these cities.”
On Oct. 1, Missouri’s Republican governor activated the state National Guard to support ICE by performing clerical duties. State officials said 15 guardsmen would assist with tasks such as data entry, logistical support and case management. Neither the governor’s office nor the Missouri National Guard responded to interview requests for this report.
Donny Walters, president of the Ethical Society of Police, St. Louis’ Black officers’ union, said the move to send troops into Democratic-led cities and communities of color drives a wedge between police and residents. He called the tactic “heavy-handed,” arguing that federal resources would be better used to support Black and brown communities through services rather than expanded enforcement. Walters warned that short-term deployments could leave local officers to manage the long-term fallout if federal agents’ actions erode trust.
Other Black law enforcement leaders say crime reduction efforts should be led by city officials, police chiefs and social service providers rather than outside forces. Renee Hall, president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, said the aggressive tactics resemble past eras of policing that disproportionately targeted Black communities. She pointed to a history of over-policing tied to racialized control and said using National Guard troops and federal agents in this way sends the wrong message, undermining work law enforcement has undertaken to move away from those practices. Hall described such deployments as performative and unlikely to deliver the meaningful crime reductions communities want.
