Trump calls off federal agent deployment to San Francisco after mayor’s appeal
President Trump cancelled plans to deploy federal agents to San Francisco on Thursday following a conversation with Mayor Daniel Lurie, marking a significant reversal in the administration’s ongoing effort to send law enforcement and military forces to Democratic-led cities.
Deployment plans and cancellation
More than 100 U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents had arrived at the Coast Guard base in Alameda, California, on Thursday morning as part of a planned immigration enforcement and crime reduction operation. The Trump administration had been preparing what the president called a “surge” of federal personnel into the San Francisco area, potentially including National Guard troops.
“I spoke to Mayor Lurie last night and he asked, very nicely, that I give him a chance to see if he can turn it around,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Thursday morning.
Mayor Lurie confirmed the cancellation in a statement on X, noting that U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem “reaffirmed that direction” in a separate call Thursday morning. Trump credited conversations with both the mayor and prominent technology executives, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, with influencing his decision.
Protests and local response
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the Coast Guard facility in Alameda on Thursday morning, holding signs reading “No ICE or troops in the Bay” and singing hymns. Police deployed at least one flash-bang grenade to disperse protesters blocking the entrance as CBP vehicles attempted to enter.
San Francisco and California state officials had threatened immediate legal action if federal forces were deployed. City Attorney David Chiu stated earlier this week that the city was “prepared to take the necessary legal action to defend San Francisco.” Governor Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta had pledged to file lawsuits within hours if troops arrived.
Following Trump’s announcement, Newsom’s office posted on X: “For once, Trump has listened to reason—and recognized what we’ve been advocating from the start.”
Crime statistics dispute
Trump has repeatedly claimed San Francisco is plagued by rampant crime, but local officials dispute this characterization with statistics showing many crimes are at historic lows. Mayor Lurie noted that crime in the city has decreased by 30 percent, reaching its lowest level in decades. The president has nevertheless threatened to deploy the National Guard to the city for weeks as part of a broader campaign targeting Democratic-led urban areas.
Broader context
The San Francisco cancellation occurs as the Trump administration continues pursuing federal deployments elsewhere. The Supreme Court is currently weighing the president’s request to send National Guard troops to Chicago, while federal forces have already been deployed to Washington D.C., Memphis, Los Angeles, and Portland. A federal appeals court recently ruled in favor of allowing National Guard deployment to Portland, overturning lower court decisions that had blocked the action.
Trump has claimed these deployments are necessary to address crime, illegal immigration, and protests in Democratic-controlled cities, though critics have characterized them as potential abuses of presidential power and violations of laws limiting military involvement in domestic law enforcement.
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