SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — On Thursday, President Donald Trump announced that he called off a “surge” in San Francisco that was planned for Saturday, when federal immigration agents were slated to conduct operations around the city.
Trump wrote on Truth Social, “Friends of mine who live in the area called last night to ask me not to go forward with the surge in that the Mayor, Daniel Lurie, was making substantial progress.”
President Trump said the friends who he spoke to included Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. The billionaire tech executives and Lurie apparently helped convince Trump that SF deserved more time to crack down on crime using city and state law enforcement before federal intervention.
Trump wrote on Truth Social, “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. I told him I think he is making a mistake, because we can do it much faster, and remove the criminals. I told him, ‘It’s an easier process if we do it, faster, stronger, and safer but, let’s see how you do?'”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, “The president heard (Lurie) out. (Trump) said, ‘OK I’ll give you a chance. We’ll be watching. If I feel as though you continue to fail your citizens, the federal government may have to step in.”‘
Leavitt said, “We will continue to watch San Francisco.”
Leavitt said the purpose of the previously planned surge was to make San Francisco streets “safe and clean.” She added, “The president is willing to work with anyone … to do the right thing and clean up America’s cities.”
During the mayor’s phone call with the president Wednesday night, Lurie said Trump recognized the value of SF as a “global hub for technology.”
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson told KRON4 that the Department of Homeland Security’s surges are aimed at, “targeting the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens — including murderers, rapists, gang members, pedophiles, and terrorists — in cities such as Portland, Chicago, Memphis and San Francisco.”
President Trump told reporters Thursday that San Francisco is home to some of the world’s smartest and most successful business leaders, and tech CEOs like Benioff and Huang are working with the mayor and police department to make progress. “They are doing a good job, so we are holding off that surge,” Trump said.
Trump said SF was a great city, and “has the potential to very quickly be a great city again.”
Early Thursday morning, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents arrived at Coast Guard Island Alameda. The agents shouted at hundreds of protesters in Oakland to move out of the way so their vehicles could enter the island.
Agents used pepper spray and flash bang grenades. A pastor suffered facial injuries when he was hit in the face by an object. The pastor said, “I obviously was shot with whatever that border patrol had directly to my face. I came to say, ‘we’re here in peace,’ and he didn’t care.” Another protester’s foot was run over.
The federal government-owned island in Alameda houses a U.S. Coast Guard base with only one bridge serving as an entryway. The USCG, ICE, and CBP are all part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Dozens of CHP officers dressed in riot gear arrived Thursday afternoon and pushed protesters back to clear the intersection at the bridge. One protester was tackled to the ground and arrested.
More anti-ICE protests are planned to take place around the Bay Area.
Before the president’s announcement pausing the surge, Lurie and San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins warned about a so-called “Trump playbook” for deploying federal immigration enforcement agents and National Guard soldiers into left-wing American cities with sanctuary policies.
So far, the Trump administration has not sent National Guard military troops into the Bay Area.
Lurie said Wednesday, “We do know this federal administration has a playbook. In cities across the country, masked immigration officials are deployed to use aggressive enforcement tactics that instill fear. These tactics are designed to incite backlash, chaos, and violence, which are then used as an excuse to deploy military personnel.”
Jenkins explained, “The precursor to the National Guard is likely going to be Customs and Border Patrol and ICE agents, just as we’ve seen in Los Angeles and Chicago. My concern … is that the president needs to have civil unrest in order to obtain the legal authority to send in the National Guard.”
In Chicago, federal immigration agents made highly visible arrests that were “very provoking of an emotional response by people who witness it. We have to make sure that we do not give the president any opportunity or legal basis to continue,” Jenkins said.
The Bar Association of San Francisco said it is also concerned about potential clashes involving protestors.
Charles Jung of BASF said, “We applaud the decision to suspend the deployment of federal agents to San Francisco. We urge Bay Area residents to exercise their right to protest peacefully. Violence and unrest may be used to invoke the Insurrection Act and bring in the military.”
After pausing the San Francisco surge, President Trump said federal agents will re-focus on criminals in Chicago.
