President Trump has agreed to give San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie time to “make the city better on his own.” Crime rates in SF are at their lowest level in 60 years.
Newsom threatens legal action against Trump’s federal employees in state
Gov. Gavin Newsom said President Donald Trump’s sending of federal troops to San Francisco is part of an “authoritarian strategy.”
OAKLAND, Calif. – President Donald Trump is pausing plans to send federal workers to San Francisco, the city’s mayor announced on social media, citing a call with Republican leaders.
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said in a post on X that President Trump called him on the night of Oct. 22 to inform him of the cancellation, and that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem “reaffirmed that direction” in a separate call on the morning of Oct. 23.
The news came as about 300 people marched in a circle in front of the entrance to Coast Guard Island, a man-made island between Oakland and Alameda that is home to several major U.S. Coast Guard headquarters. About a dozen Coast Guard personnel were monitoring the protesters after the early morning altercation. The Coast Guard, part of the Department of Homeland Security, said in an Oct. 22 statement that the base will support Border Patrol agents.
The Rev. Deborah Lee, co-director of the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, which helped organize the demonstration, said she initially couldn’t believe the news that federal agents would not arrive.
She wondered aloud whether the administration would cancel all expected expansion into the Bay Area or just the expansion into San Francisco.
“I think it would be great if this extended to all Californians and all Americans,” she said.
President Trump’s press secretary, Caroline Leavitt, said at an Oct. 23 press conference that Trump “heard from the mayor last night and said that he was going to make a serious effort to improve the city on his own. The president listened to him and said, ‘Okay, I’ll give you a chance.'” We’re watching, we’re here if you need us, and if I feel like you continue to betray the people, the federal government may have to intervene. “However, we will continue to monitor San Francisco, and its law enforcement operations are currently suspended.” ”
The president has sent troops to several Democratic-led cities across the country since June, including Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Portland, Oregon, and Memphis, Tennessee. He said the military is needed both to prevent crime and to assist immigration officials with enforcement efforts. The move has been the subject of several lawsuits.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has said he will sue the Trump administration if it sends the National Guard to San Francisco, where the crime rate is at its lowest in 60 years.
Shortly after 7 a.m. local time on October 23, a group of protesters surrounded a caravan of marked and unmarked vehicles carrying federal agents and blocked the entrance to the Coast Guard station. Witnesses said agents tried to push protesters away before firing two flashbangs.
Hours later, Oakland resident Melanie Jasper held up a sign that read, “ICE, Proud Boys, and Ku Klux Klan are not welcome in the Bay Area,” and said she still questioned the decision not to send troops to San Francisco.
“We still have to continue protesting. We can’t celebrate too vigorously,” said Jasper, who took time off work as a project manager for a clean technology company to join the protests. “We still live in President Trump’s America.”
Contributed by: Reuters
(This is a developing story and will be updated.)
