President Donald Trump has abruptly cancelled plans to send federal forces to San Francisco, a decision that came after intense local mobilization and talks with the city’s mayor and Silicon Valley executives. The proposed surge, reported to include more than 100 Customs and Border Protection and other federal agents, had already drawn hundreds of protesters to the gates of the U.S. Coast Guard base in Alameda. City officials and activists, who had warned of sweeping civil rights impacts, now face uncertainty over whether the pause applies only to San Francisco or to other Bay Area targets.
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Deployment Pulled Back
Mayor Daniel Lurie said he spoke with the president and received a clear commitment that planned federal deployments would be cancelled. “In that conversation, the president told me clearly that he was calling off any plans for a federal deployment in San Francisco. Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, reaffirmed that direction in our conversation this morning,” Lurie said in a statement. Trump confirmed the exchange 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.”
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Streets Flooded Quickly
Reports that the administration intended to station agents at the Coast Guard base in Alameda sparked immediate street action: hundreds of protesters gathered, chanting and holding signs such as “No ICE or Troops in the Bay!” Police used flash-bang grenades to clear parts of the crowd as CBP vehicles moved through. Demonstrators circled the base gates, played Marvin Gaye on loudspeakers and even included people in costumes, a vivid display of the local resistance that reportedly helped pressure the White House decision.
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Local Voices Loud
Residents and first-time protesters described the deployment as a threat to everyday life. “It’s scary what’s going on right now, and we’ve got to just stand in solidarity,” said Josh Aguirre, who learned of the plans from his four-year-old daughter’s school administrators and came with his dog to join the demonstration. Raj, an educator, warned that the presence of federal forces would expose entire communities with families and children: “When federal troops come in here, they won’t just see what they think they’re gonna see, which are like violent agitators. They’re going to see entire communities come out with their kids, with their families, with their teens.”
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Political Leaders Respond
California officials reacted forcefully when news of the deployment broke and welcomed the reversal. Diana Crofts-Pelayo, a spokesperson for Governor Gavin Newsom, said, “Trump has finally, for once, listened to reason – and heard what we have been saying from the beginning.” Newsom himself had denounced the plan as “right out of the dictator’s handbook,” while the city’s supervisors and district officials insisted they would use legal channels if federal forces arrived.
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Legal Teams Ready
State and city lawyers have signalled immediate legal opposition if deployments proceeded. Rob Bonta, California’s attorney general, vowed to “be in court within hours, if not minutes”, and San Francisco’s city attorney David Chiu made similar promises. San Francisco’s district attorney, Brooke Jenkins, said she was prepared to prosecute any federal agents who violated state law — a clear signal that local institutions were ready to litigate and, if necessary, prosecute.
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Unclear Wider Plans
Officials and organizers stressed that the president’s announcement left open key questions: which agencies were affected, and whether other Bay Area cities like Oakland remained potential targets. “At this time, we do not know which federal agencies are being called off. We don’t know if that’s the National Guard. We don’t know if it’s ICE, if it’s border patrol,” said Jackie Fielder, San Francisco city supervisor. Local leaders continued to mobilize rapid response networks, legal aid, and community support in case other operations unfold.
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Framing the Rationale
Trump had framed potential operations as necessary to confront crime and immigration, asserting broad authority and arguing cities wanted federal help. On Fox News, he claimed “unquestioned power” to deploy the national guard, and earlier said, “Every American deserves to live in a community where they’re not afraid of being mugged, murdered, robbed, raped, assaulted, or shot.” Opponents argued the move would racialize policing and intimidate immigrant communities, preparing for mobilization rather than panic. As organizers put it, “This is not a time for panic. It is a time for power across this area,” underscoring plans to keep community protections in place.