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ST. LOUIS — The FBI is sending more agents and personnel to St. Louis, boosting numbers to their "highest point in years," and marking another move by the Trump administration to beef up federal presence in an American city.

It represents “one of the largest per capita infusions of full-time agents and intel personnel in the nation,� the office of U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt said in a statement on Wednesday.

The additions will increase the agency’s violent crime-fighting capabilities, said Schmitt, who pushed for the extra agents.

FBI Director Kash Patel said it brings the office to “its strongest presence in St. Louis in years and we’re here to stay.�

“This investment in St. Louis is about action, not politics, making sure our agents are shoulder to shoulder with local law enforcement to take violent criminals off the streets,� Patel said Wednesday in a statement released through Schmitt’s office.

But Trump's moves into American cities have generated controversy in recent months. In June, he sent members of the California National Guard into Los Angeles in response to pro-immigrant protests. He also asserted control over Washington, D.C.'s police department and sent in the DC National Guard over crime concerns. 

And immigration arrests have been on the rise in Missouri. County jails in the state that contract with the federal government to house people detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have been taking in more and more people in recent months, the Post-Dispatch reported in June. 

That leaves some skeptical of an increased federal presence in St. Louis.

“I have yet to see Sen. Schmitt show a full understanding or a deep care for the city of St. Louis, other than optics,� said Alderwoman Daniela Velázquez, of Shaw. “I’m concerned that it is another publicity stunt for him.�

U.S. Rep Wesley Bell, a Democrat, said he wanted to learn more about the plan for the extra agents.

"We need to be smarter about crime — not just have a show of force that really does nothing," he told the Post-Dispatch.

There is also a large need for resources like mental health care and addiction treatment, he said, which could help make further crime reductions in the long run. "That's how we actually make our region safer," he said.

Violent crime has been falling in St. Louis in recent years, according to police statistics.

The homicide rate last year was down 40% from a record high in 2020, and it’s on pace to fall further this year. Rapes, robberies and assaults are also down.

Mitch McCoy, spokesperson for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, which recently came under state control, attributed declines in violent crime to "ongoing, strong" relationships with local and federal partners.

"We look forward to continuing these efforts through our shared interests of a safer St. Louis region," he said in an emailed statement Wednesday.

But the Trump administration has cut $158 million, or over half, of all federal funding for violence prevention programs,  last month.

And that kind of initiative has helped to reduce violence in St. Louis, said Chris Sullivan, chair of the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

"I think things are trending in the right direction already," Sullivan said Wednesday, noting that there’s "obviously always room for improvement when it comes to violent crime."

Sullivan also said actions by the St. Louis police department under Chief Robert Tracy — such as an intensive focus on investigating non-fatal shootings — have also helped drive down violent crime.

Schmitt called Wednesday's action the start of a “new era of federal-state partnership to promote law and order in St. Louis,� and said it would affect FBI staffing across the metro area.

“This permanent investment in St. Louis by the FBI will be coupled with increased multilateral joint agency operations, increasing overall crime fighting capacity and building upon the important work being done on the state level to restore public safety,� he said.

DJ Griffin, spokesperson for Schmitt, said due to FBI policy, the office couldn’t discuss operational details such as the number of agents that will come to St. Louis.

Rebecca Naber, spokesperson for the FBI in St. Louis, did not return calls seeking comment.

Schmitt has worked with the FBI before on crime-fighting initiatives. 

As attorney general in 2019, he helped launch the “Safer Streets Initiative� — a federal-state crimefighting partnership.

But in 2022 the program was suspended in St. Louis. At the time, Schmitt linked the suspension to a lawsuit then-President Joe Biden’s administration filed targeting Missouri’s controversial “Second Amendment Preservation Act.�

A federal appeals court last year blocked the law, which declared certain federal firearms laws invalid.

Katie Kull of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.