President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he would be stepping back from a plan to increase the number of federal agents deployed in San Francisco.
This decision comes after a conversation with San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, who informed the president that the city is making strides in reducing crime.
In a post on social media, Trump mentioned that he agreed to allow San Francisco to continue handling its own challenges for the time being.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents had recently started arriving at Coast Guard Island in Alameda, California, as part of a federal initiative aimed at tracking down undocumented immigrants.
On the same day, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Coast Guard base, singing hymns and displaying signs that read, “No ICE or troops in the Bay,” in reference to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In response to the protests, police deployed at least one flash-bang grenade to disperse a small number of demonstrators at the entrance, while CBP vehicles made their way into the base.
Organizers of the protest urged attendees to maintain a peaceful demeanor as Coast Guard officers stood watch in helmets at the perimeter.
Mayor Lurie revealed that during his phone call with Trump on Wednesday night, the president made it clear he was halting any plans for federal deployment in San Francisco.
Lurie issued a statement indicating that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had confirmed this directive on Thursday morning.
However, it remained unclear whether this meant the cancellation of a National Guard deployment or the cessation of CBP immigration enforcement efforts.
Requests for clarification from Lurie’s office went unanswered, but a news conference scheduled for noon was expected to provide additional information on the matter.
Following Trump’s announcement, California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office stated via social media that the president had finally heeded their advice.
They expressed that the Bay Area exemplifies what makes California special, asserting that any attempts to undermine their progress would hinder the achievements they have made.
The San Francisco Chronicle had reported that over 100 CBP and other federal agents were set to arrive in the area this week, a move that both Lurie and Newsom criticized as provocative and likely to incite violent protests.
Trump has previously spoken about deploying National Guard troops to San Francisco to address what he refers to as rampant crime, although his administration has not provided a specific timeline for such action.
Local and state leaders were perplexed by Trump’s claims of a crime crisis in a city with a population of roughly 830,000, especially given that crime statistics indicate many offenses are at record lows.
In other parts of the country, Trump has deployed the National Guard in various cities including Washington, D.C., and Memphis, Tennessee, asserting that such measures are necessary to combat crime.
He has also mentioned cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and Portland as potential locations needing federal assistance to protect federal properties and personnel amidst unrest related to immigration enforcement.
Legal challenges from Democratic officials in Chicago and Portland have thus far prevented the deployment of troops on city streets.
Coast Guard Island, where the recent deployment of agents occurred, is an artificial island established in 1913 and has served as a base for the Coast Guard since 1926.
The island is federally owned and not accessible to the general public without proper government identification or escorts.
image source from：abc7
