Trump Halts San Francesco Federal Agent Surge After Mayor Call/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ President Donald Trump backed off a planned federal law enforcement surge into San Francisco after a direct conversation with Mayor Daniel Lurie, who said the city was already reducing crime. The announcement came after public outcry and protests over reports of over 100 federal agents arriving in the Bay Area. The decision signals a tactical shift amid legal threats and political backlash.
Trump Reverses Federal Surge: San Francisco Quick Looks
- Trump cancels planned federal agent surge after call with Mayor Daniel Lurie
- Hundreds protest arrival of federal agents at Coast Guard Island in Alameda
- Mayor and Gov. Newsom call the deployment provocative and dangerous
- Trump has previously sent troops to LA, DC, and Memphis
- City and state officials vow legal action if deployment resumes
- Trump says Lurie assured him crime was dropping in San Francisco
- Protests warn against ICE and CBP enforcement targeting immigrants
Deep Look: Trump Cancels San Francisco Agent Deployment After Protest, Pressure
ALAMEDA, Calif. — President Donald Trump has reversed his decision to send a surge of federal agents into San Francisco, announcing Thursday that he would pause the planned deployment following a conversation with the city’s mayor.
Trump posted on his social media platform that Mayor Daniel Lurie convinced him the city was already making progress in lowering crime, and that federal intervention would not be necessary — at least for now.
“I spoke with Mayor Lurie, who said the city was improving, so I agreed to hold back the agents,” Trump wrote. His announcement followed a night of escalating tension after reports surfaced that over 100 federal agents had already begun arriving in the region.
Public Backlash and Protests
Just hours before Trump’s announcement, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the U.S. Coast Guard base on Coast Guard Island in Alameda, where U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents had reportedly arrived to begin federal operations.
Protesters, many holding signs reading “No ICE or troops in the Bay”, sang hymns and formed human barriers to block CBP vehicles from entering. Police responded with crowd-control tactics, including at least one flash-bang grenade to clear demonstrators at the entrance.
Organizers urged participants to remain peaceful as Coast Guard officers, equipped with helmets and shields, monitored the scene.
The San Francisco Chronicle had reported the impending deployment Wednesday, citing anonymous sources, and said CBP agents would be joined by other federal personnel to assist in tracking undocumented immigrants and cracking down on counterfeit goods.
City and state officials swiftly condemned the plan.
Mayor Lurie and Newsom Push Back
Mayor Daniel Lurie, in a livestreamed nine-minute address from City Hall late Wednesday, denounced the federal operation as political theater designed to provoke unrest and justify military force in liberal cities.
“These tactics are meant to create chaos, fear, and ultimately an excuse to militarize our streets,” Lurie said. “We will not allow our city to be a backdrop for political gamesmanship.”
Lurie was joined in condemnation by California Governor Gavin Newsom, who warned residents to be cautious and advised immigrants to memorize emergency contact numbers in case of arrest. His office posted:
“Don’t give them the pretext they’re looking for to intensify their repression.”
Trump’s History of Federal Deployments
Trump has previously deployed National Guard troops to Los Angeles, Memphis, and Washington, D.C., citing surges in crime and the need to protect federal buildings. However, in some cities, federal deployment has been blocked by lawsuits from Democratic officials.
He also proposed sending troops into Chicago and Portland, though legal challenges prevented the forces from being widely deployed on city streets.
The president reignited controversy earlier this week in a Fox News interview, where he called San Francisco “a once-great city turned upside down by woke politics” and hinted at imminent action.
Yet crime statistics in San Francisco suggest a different story. Despite high-profile retail theft and homelessness issues, many crime categories have seen significant declines, according to both state and local data.
Legal Threats Loomed
Even before Trump’s reversal, California Attorney General Rob Bonta vowed to take immediate legal action if federal agents were sent into the city without state consent.
“If there’s a federal deployment, we’ll be in court within hours — if not minutes,” Bonta said.
San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu also pledged legal resistance, echoing the city’s stance during Trump’s previous immigration crackdowns while in office.
“We’ve seen this playbook before,” Chiu said. “It’s meant to frighten people, not to improve public safety.”
The Federal Presence That Remains
Despite Trump’s decision to pause a full-scale deployment, agents from CBP had already begun staging at Coast Guard Island, a federally owned facility that dates back to 1926. Because the island is under federal jurisdiction, it remains unclear how much control the city or state could exercise over activities there.
The Coast Guard, a branch of the Department of Homeland Security, issued a vague statement Thursday, saying it was “leveraging unique authorities to deter illegal aliens, narco-terrorists, and other threats before they reach the border.”
The presence of DHS agents on federal property may continue for now, but any broader street-level deployment in San Francisco appears to be halted — at least temporarily.
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