When the National Guard shows up in an American city, it usually signals a crisis. Images of Humvees parked on street corners and troops in riot gear tend to conjure more fear than comfort. That’s one reason Democrats, including New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, were quick to denounce President Trump’s decision to deploy Guard units in Washington, D.C., earlier this year, calling it government overreach.
But in Albuquerque, the state’s largest city, Lujan Grisham made a very different calculation. Confronted with a shortage of police officers and a stubbornly high rate of violent crime, she ordered about 70 Guard members to assist city police this spring. And unlike the images out of Washington, the strategy in New Mexico was quieter, more targeted, and—according to the governor—showing results.
“We’re down a thousand officers compared to where we were a decade ago,” she told PBS’s Geoff Bennett in a recent interview. “I can’t control the police. I’m not occupying a city. What I can do is give them resources to do the job they were trained to do.”
In Albuquerque, that meant positioning Guard members not on patrol but in supporting roles: securing crime scenes, transporting suspects, handling dispatch calls, even monitoring buses. The idea was to free up sworn officers for the work only they can do—walking neighborhoods, responding to emergencies, and maintaining a visible presence on the streets.
By the governor’s count, the Guard’s involvement has added 4,000 hours of direct policing time since April. Crucially, she emphasized, there were no tanks, no riot gear, and no suggestion that soldiers were in charge.
Still, Lujan Grisham acknowledged the limits of the approach. Guard units are designed for emergencies, not long-term law enforcement. Their primary responsibilities—responding to wildfires, floods, and natural disasters—make it difficult to rely on them indefinitely. For now, she said, seasonal shifts make the deployment possible, but it’s not a permanent fix.
The bigger problem, she argued, is a lack of federal support. The governor pointed to ballooning budgets in Washington that haven’t translated into more FBI agents, U.S. Marshals, or federal prosecutors in her state. “I’d like to have more lawyers. I’d like to see more DEA and ATF personnel. We could do a lot more in our drug interdiction work,” she said, noting that Guard members already collaborate with federal agencies along the border.
After the Justice Department labeled Albuquerque a sanctuary city and hinted at litigation. Lujan Grisham pushed back, saying local law enforcement is right to resist being drafted into federal immigration enforcement.
The governor’s experiment highlights a contradiction in American politics. Democrats often warn against the militarization of policing, yet here was a Democratic governor using military resources to bolster public safety. For Lujan Grisham, the distinction lies in intent and execution: partnership rather than takeover, support rather than show of force.
Whether the results in Albuquerque can be sustained—or replicated elsewhere—remains to be seen. But in a city struggling with violent crime and too few officers, the Guard has bought time. And for now, at least, the governor insists, that makes the streets of Albuquerque safer.
