Federal agents sent to San Francisco area which mayor says is meant to
incite ‘chaos and violence’
[October 23, 2025]
By JANIE HAR
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday it is providing
a base of operations for U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in
the San Francisco area as part of its effort to support federal efforts
to track down immigrants in the country illegally and provide border and
maritime security.
The San Francisco Chronicle, citing an anonymous source with knowledge
of the operation, reported more than 100 CBP and other federal agents
will begin arriving Thursday at the base in Alameda, a move immediately
condemned by San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie and California Gov. Gavin
Newsom. The two Democrats said the surge is meant to provoke violent
protests.
CBP did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The
Associated Press. A statement provided to media by the Coast Guard said
in part that “through a whole of government approach, we are leveraging
our unique authorities and capabilities to detect, deter, and interdict
illegal aliens, narco-terrorists, and individuals intent on terrorism or
other hostile activity before they reach our border.”
Soon after the deployment was first reported, Lurie livestreamed a
nine-minute statement from City Hall, flanked by other elected
officials, and cautioned against giving federal officials working from
“a playbook” any excuse to crack down. President Donald Trump has
repeatedly said he plans to deploy National Guard troops to the city to
quell crime, but his administration hasn't offered a timeline for doing
so.
“In cities across the country, masked immigration officials are deployed
to use aggressive enforcement tactics that instill fear so people don’t
feel safe going about their daily lives,” Lurie said. “These tactics are
designed to incite backlash, chaos and violence, which are then used as
an excuse to deploy military personnel."
As is his custom, Lurie did not refer to the president or address him by
name.
Trump has deployed the Guard to Washington, D.C., and Memphis,
Tennessee, to help fight what he says is rampant crime. Los Angeles was
the first city where Trump deployed the Guard, arguing it was necessary
to protect federal buildings and federal agents as protesters fought
back against mass immigration arrests.
He has since said they are needed in Chicago and Portland, Oregon, as
well, although lawsuits by Democratic officials in both cities have so
far blocked troops from going out on city streets.
Trump recently renewed his musings about sending the Guard to San
Francisco, saying in a Fox News interview Sunday that the city “was
truly one of the great cities of the world” before it went “wrong” and
“woke.”
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Ships dock at Coast Guard Base Alameda on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025,
in Alameda, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
His assertions of out-of-control crime in the city of roughly
830,000 has baffled local and state leaders who point to statistics
showing that many crimes are at record lows.
Newsom’s administration said it would push back forcefully on any
deployment, as it did when Trump first ordered the guard into Los
Angeles against the governor’s wishes. California Attorney General
Rob Bonta vowed to “be in court within hours, if not minutes” if
there is a federal deployment, and San Francisco City Attorney David
Chiu has promised the same.
At a news conference Wednesday, Newsom held up what he said was a
lawsuit the state would file if Trump sends troops to San Francisco.
“We’re going to be fierce in terms of our response,” said Newsom, a
former mayor of San Francisco. “This is the lawsuit that I will file
within a nanosecond of any efforts to send the military to one of
America’s great cities.”
The Coast Guard base in Alameda that is hosting the CBP agents is
between Oakland and San Francisco, both sanctuary cities that do not
cooperate with the federal government on civil immigration
operations. A Homeland Security statement said the agency is
“targeting the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens —
including murderers, rapists, gang members, pedophiles, and
terrorists.”
Lurie urged the public to protest peacefully. He said he had just
signed an executive directive to coordinate the city's response to a
potential federal deployment and provide support for immigrants.
Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee issued a statement saying: “Real public
safety comes from Oakland-based solutions, not federal military
occupation.”
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Associated Press writer Sophie Austin contributed from Sacramento,
California
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