On Wednesday, more than 100 federal agents were dispatched to the East Bay as part of President Donald Trump’s highly anticipated immigration enforcement action plan for the Bay Area. According to reports from the Chronicle, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents will be staging at the U.S. Coast Guard’s Alameda base, which will serve as their “place of operations.” Critics of the operation argue that it may intentionally incite violence and create a pretext for the Trump administration to deploy the National Guard.
Local leaders are urging protestors to express their dissent peacefully. President Trump has repeatedly threatened to send in the National Guard to combat crime in San Francisco, a move that has faced legal challenges. Mayor Daniel Lurie and District Attorney Brooke Jenkins have both voiced their opposition to this potential deployment, while City Attorney David Chiu has warned of legal action if the National Guard is utilized. As of Wednesday night, it remains uncertain when or if the National Guard will be deployed.
Information regarding the upcoming immigration crackdown is limited, but Mayor Lurie noted that the city has been preparing for this scenario for the past ten months. Under existing sanctuary laws, the San Francisco Police Department and Sheriff’s officers are prohibited from assisting in civil immigration actions. In light of these developments, activists across San Francisco and the Bay Area are mobilizing aid networks and community defense systems while preparing protest plans.
Although immigration agents are expected to begin gathering at the U.S. Coast Guard’s Alameda base on Thursday, it is unclear if they will immediately disperse across the Bay Area to begin detaining immigrants. The mere prospect of enforcement actions has left many immigrant families in fear, according to local leaders. Community organizers are actively recruiting volunteers to protect day laborers at work sites and ensure children can safely get to school.
The Latino Task Force, based in San Francisco’s Mission District, plans to transport students with undocumented parents to schools throughout the city. The San Francisco Unified School District, recognized as a sanctuary education system, has stated it will not allow immigration officials on campus without clearance from district lawyers. Additionally, Bay Resistance, a social justice nonprofit, will monitor locations where day laborers typically gather to watch for any ICE activity.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions have significantly increased over the summer in Northern California, with at least 80 asylum seekers arrested in San Francisco courthouses since May. The most recent arrest occurred on October 3, according to Milli Atkinson, an attorney leading San Francisco’s Rapid Response Network. However, it is still unclear how ICE will be involved in the impending immigration crackdown.
Typically, CBP officers focus on preventing illegal immigration at ports of entry, while ICE agents enforce immigration laws within the U.S. A recently passed piece of legislation will prohibit federal law enforcement officers, including immigration agents, from wearing masks except in specific situations, though this law takes effect on January 1.
As of now, the National Guard has not been formally activated in San Francisco, despite Trump’s repeated threats to deploy federal troops. The President has already sent National Guard members to cities like Los Angeles, Memphis, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Portland. A deployment in Chicago is currently on hold due to a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. Approximately 300 California National Guard troops remain federalized under a Trump order that extends through February 2026, which gives the President the capacity to mobilize these troops into San Francisco.
In response to the federal operation, several protests are scheduled. Bay Resistance will host a demonstration at 5 p.m. in San Francisco’s Embarcadero Plaza. The Sanctuary Faith Vigil: ICE Out of the Bay will take place from 7:30 to 10 a.m. at Dennison and Embarcadero in Oakland. Additionally, Oakland’s chapter of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization will conduct a march and rally from 4 to 6 p.m., starting at Fruitvale Plaza and concluding at the U.S. Coast Guard Bridge.
Mayor Lurie publicly condemned the immigration crackdown, urging San Franciscans to define themselves through peaceful protest rather than resorting to violence. “In cities across the country, masked immigration officials are deployed to use aggressive enforcement tactics that instill fear,” Lurie stated at a Wednesday news conference. “These tactics are designed to incite backlash, chaos, and violence, which are then used as an excuse to deploy military personnel.”
District Attorney Jenkins expressed her intent to prosecute federal agents who break the law, describing the enforcement actions as indiscriminate and provocation-driven. San Francisco supervisors have also condemned the operation, with District 11 Supervisor Chyanne Chen stating, “The goal of the heightened ICE activity is to sow chaos, fear, and insecurity for our communities.”
The discourse around deploying National Guard troops to San Francisco gained traction after Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff suggested earlier this month that Trump should send troops to combat crime. Following Benioff's remarks, Elon Musk echoed similar sentiments, prompting swift pushback from the city’s progressive leaders. Although Benioff later retracted his statement, its impact lingered. In a recent Fox News interview, Trump claimed, “I think they want us in San Francisco,” to which Lurie responded by emphasizing the National Guard’s limitations in addressing the city’s challenges.
Previous instances of federal intervention in cities like Los Angeles have raised concerns about chaos and public safety. Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles noted that federal military presence only exacerbated tensions rather than alleviating them, highlighting the need for cities to remain vigilant against such interventions.
The situation in San Francisco continues to evolve, with local leaders, activists, and community members standing united against the potential immigration crackdown and advocating for the rights and safety of all residents.
