President Donald Trump planned to send the National Guard to San Francisco for immigration and anti-crime enforcement efforts, but Trump and Mayor Daniel Lurie later announced this morning that the deployment in San Francisco is called off. Protesters were outside the U.S. Coast Guard base between Oakland and Alameda, blocking Customs and Border Protection Vehicles this morning.
Federal agents were deployed to Coast Guard Island and were met with protesters upon arrival. Two protesters were injured as federal enforcement arrived in the East Bay early this morning. Flash bangs were used as the protesters banged on and blocked the U.S. Customs and Border Protection vehicles.
The National Guard was deployed to multiple cities across the U.S., including Portland, Chicago, Missouri, Memphis and Washington, D.C. The National Guard and U.S. Marines were also deployed to Los Angeles on June 7.
There will be a “Hands Off The Bay” rally organized by Bay Resistance at 5 p.m. in response to the deployment. There will be a protest at both the San Francisco Embarcadero Plaza and San Jose City Hall.
Golden Gate Xpress is providing live updates on developments on the National Guard deployment to the Bay Area.
Thursday, Oct. 24
12:00 p.m.
Lurie held a press conference to address public safety concerns San Franciscans may have about the deployment of federal agents.
The mayor opened the press conference similarly to his public statement, noting that San Francisco’s crime rates have been down and said there is no need for federal agents to be deployed to San Francisco.
Lurie said he did not reach out to any tech leaders to initiate this call with Trump, and that Trump “picked up the phone and called [him].”
San Francisco immigrant leaders met with Lurie on Wednesday.
“As we look ahead, my team will continue to monitor the situation closely, and our city remains prepared for any scenario,” Lurie said. “We have a plan in place that can be activated at any moment.”
At the time of publication, there is no public information about this plan.
Lurie thanked organizations like the San Francisco Rapid Response Network, which is an agency comprised of 12 organizations that represent immigrant groups. They have been preparing for any possible federal deployment all week.
“We have close communications with our immigrant leaders,” Lurie said. “I think it’s been a really challenging day for San Franciscans, [a] challenging week, and I really hope people can take a breath.”
Protesters rallied outside San Francisco City Hall during the press conference. Lurie urged the public to continue to peacefully protest.
There is no confirmed time frame of when federal agents will be leaving the Bay Area.
10:32 a.m.
Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee held a press conference expressing her concern for the East Bay amid Trump’s call off on the deployment of the National Guard in San Francisco.
“The federal administration, of course, has escalated its rhetoric and its enforcement posture in the Bay Area,” Lee said. “We know that border patrol agents are being stationed on Coast Guard Island. But let me be clear — our city, as I said, we are fully prepared. We’re monitoring developments closely and we’ll keep our residents informed if there are any confirmed changes.”
10:03 a.m.
President Donald Trump released a statement on Truth Social confirming the call off in San Francisco citing the influence of friends in the San Francisco area, who asked him not to go forward with the planned surge. While speaking to Mayor Daniel Lurie on Wednesday night about the call off of the deployment of federal agents, Trump said that Lurie was making a mistake.
“It’s an easier process if we do it, faster, stronger, and safer,” Trump said. “But, let’s see how you do?”
Trump said it’s a faster process because the federal administration can remove criminals that the law doesn’t permit Lurie to remove himself. Trump said there will no longer be a surge in San Francisco on Saturday, but ended the statement with “Stay tuned!”
9:27 a.m.
Lurie released a statement on X that he had received a phone call from Trump on Wednesday night regarding the deployment of federal agents to San Francisco.
“The president told me clearly that he was calling off any plans for a federal deployment in San Francisco,” Lurie said. “Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem reaffirmed that direction in our conversation this morning.”
Lurie said during the phone call, he told Trump the same thing he told residents: “San Francisco is on the rise”, and that having military and militarized immigration enforcement will only hinder the city’s improvement.
Lurie’s team will continue to monitor the situation and prepare for any possible scenario that may follow despite the phone call.
Wednesday, Oct. 23
Today, the Trump administration deployed over 100 federal agents to the Bay Area, using the Coast Guard Base Alameda as their base for an immigration enforcement operation.
There is no specific timeline for when federal agents will arrive.
Lurie held a public address today reiterating that San Francisco does not need federal law enforcement to improve the city and that immigrants contribute to its betterment.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, sending the military to San Francisco will not help our city or country,” Lurie said.
In this public address, Lurie disapproved of immigration officers promoting aggression and the use of the National Guard’s force.
“These tactics are designed to incite backlash, chaos and violence, which are then used as an excuse to deploy military personnel,” Lurie said. “They are intentionally creating a dangerous situation in the name of public safety. And while we cannot control the federal government, here in San Francisco, we define who we are. We stick to our values.”
On Tuesday, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors questioned Lurie about his plan to keep residents safe from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. His response stated that crime rates have been lower this year than in any previous year. Within Lurie’s first four months in office, overall crime was down 28% year over year, according to SF.gov.
“This scenario has become increasingly and terrifyingly more real for thousands of our constituents over the past six days,” said District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder.
San Francisco and California politicians have pushed back against the possibility of the National Guard and ICE coming to the Bay Area after President Donald Trump urged their deployment earlier this month.
This possibility has since sparked controversy between the city’s local officials and Trump’s administration, particularly since he deployed the guards in Portland, Oregon. In response to Trump, Lurie and Gov. Gavin Newsom said that San Francisco’s law enforcement can handle public safety without the integration of federal law enforcement.
Trump appeared in an interview on FOX News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” where he discussed deployment of the National Guard to Chicago, Illinois, and how San Francisco was next, along with other blue cities like Los Angeles, as a part of his crackdown on crime, public safety and immigration enforcement.
“We’re going to San Francisco and we’ll make it great,” Trump said on Sunday. “It’ll be great again. San Francisco is a great city. It won’t be great if it keeps going like this. We’re gonna go to San Francisco. The difference is they want us in San Francisco.”
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff initially showed his admiration for Trump and stated that he was in favor of deploying the National Guard to San Francisco in an interview with the New York Times on Oct. 10. An apology from Benioff on X shortly followed this on Friday.
“Having listened closely to my fellow San Franciscans and our local officials, and after the largest and safest Dreamforce in our history, I do not believe the National Guard is needed to address safety in San Francisco,” Benioff said. “My earlier comment came from an abundance of caution around the event, and I sincerely apologize for the concern it caused.”
Lurie urged that when the National Guard and ICE are deployed to San Francisco, residents continue to protest peacefully and San Franciscans continue to protect one another in every way possible, make their voices heard peacefully and support each other.
“We support our community the way we always have by doing these three things first: we are going to protect any San Franciscan in any way possible, second, we are going to make our voices heard peacefully,” Lurie said. “We have already seen this federal administration deploy cruel, un-American tactics to target immigrant communities in our city. Finally, we’re going to support each other.”
