Jaiden Booth has been tracking viral footage of National Guard members and immigration agents operating in cities nationwide, focusing on how people of color are treated during raids and protests. In his St. Louis neighborhood he has noticed unmarked vehicles and federal activity in immigrant areas and has begun preparing to help vulnerable residents who may be targeted or intimidated.
Booth attended a community town hall on federal enforcement hosted by activists and immigration lawyers to learn how to observe and document ICE actions. He opposes using immigration agents or National Guard personnel to police communities of color, arguing their presence can increase the risk of negative encounters, including harassment and mistreatment of Black Americans.
Some Black law enforcement leaders share those concerns. Despite a recent downward trend in crime in St. Louis — violent and property offenses have declined and the city recorded 123 homicides so far in 2025 compared with 224 in 2020, according to police department data — national leaders have called for federal intervention. In September, former President Donald Trump suggested St. Louis needed federal assistance to address crime.
On October 1, Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe authorized the state National Guard to assist ICE with clerical and support work. Local reporting indicated 15 guardsmen would provide data entry, logistical support, and case management. The governor’s office and the state National Guard did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
Donny Walters, president of the Ethical Society of Police, St. Louis’ Black officers union, says deploying troops to primarily Democratic cities and communities of color creates a rift between police and residents. He warns that heavy-handed federal tactics set back relationship-building efforts and would leave local officers to manage the fallout when short-term deployments end. Walters urges that federal resources be directed toward supporting Black and brown communities rather than expanding enforcement operations.
Renee Hall, president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, similarly argues that local leadership and social services are driving recent crime reductions and should lead responses. She criticized troop deployments and aggressive federal tactics as echoing historical patterns of over-policing in Black communities and as performative measures that fail to deliver meaningful public-safety results.
For residents like Booth and for many Black police officials, the core worry is that even brief federal interventions — including those limited to clerical and logistical support — can damage long-term trust and complicate community policing efforts, making it harder, not easier, to sustain public safety.