Congressmen Kweisi Mfume and Johnny Olszewski, Jr. sent a letter Wednesday to President Donald Trump, urging him to reconsider deploying federal troops to Baltimore.
On Tuesday, Trump announced that he would order federal forces to fight crime in Baltimore as an obligation to “protect this country.” Mfume, representing Maryland’s 7th District, and Olszewski, representing the 2nd District, wrote to Trump that the move is “unnecessary.”
The two-page letter cites the city’s lower crime statistics, violence reduction programs and community policing.
“As Members of Congress proudly representing the City of Baltimore, we strongly urge you to reconsider any potential deployment of federal troops to Baltimore in opposition of the wishes of state and local elected leaders,” the congressmen said in the letter. “Inundating our communities with federal troops could severely erode trust and undermine the real progress already underway.”
Mfume and Olszewski said Baltimore is seeing a high point in its history as the city experiences an overall reduction in crime.
According to a news release earlier this week from Mayor Brandon Scott, the city has seen a 29.5% decline in homicides and a 21% decline in nonfatal shootings from January to August compared to 2024. There have been 91 homicides in Baltimore so far this year, the fewest the city has seen from January to August in over 50 years. Auto thefts have gone down by 32%, while robberies have gone down 26%. The Baltimore Police Department has seized 1,685 firearms so far this year.
“We continue to welcome federal partnership where appropriate and in pursuit of shared goals,” the letter reads. “However, local governments rightfully bear the primary and most immediate responsibility for law enforcement. They are on the front lines every day — deeply connected to the community, its people, and its unique challenges.”
As programs like the Group Violence Reduction Strategy, a city program meant to strengthen police-community relations while reducing homicides, work toward improving law enforcement presence and relationships in Baltimore, Mfume and Olszewski argue that sending in troops takes away the city’s agency in solving its own issues.
The two “respectfully” asked Trump to reconsider sending the National Guard to Baltimore.
“Overall, Baltimore is experiencing its safest period in more than 50 years,” Mfume and Olszewski said in the letter. “Therefore, this proposed deployment of federal troops, in our opinion, would be unnecessary.”
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