San Francisco braces for anticipated immigration raids
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Photo illustration: Axios Visuals. Photo: Gabrielle Lurie/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie is ordering local police and officials to support immigrants, protect protesters and avoid cooperating with immigration authorities amid reports that President Trump's administration will soon send over 100 federal agents to the Bay Area.
Why it matters: The expected federal deployment this week of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other agents, first reported Wednesday by the San Francisco Chronicle, sets the stage for a potentially unprecedented immigration enforcement operation.
- It's a move city officials fear could heighten tensions between local and federal authorities and put undocumented immigrants at greater risk of deportation.
Driving the news: Lurie signed an executive directive Wednesday outlining preparations for San Francisco's public agencies — including schools, hospitals, police and transit — in response to potential federal intervention ahead of agents' expected arrival to a U.S. Coast Guard base in Alameda on Thursday.
- City Attorney David Chiu is also prepared to take legal action, Lurie said, adding that local law enforcement will continue adhering to San Francisco's longstanding sanctuary city policy.
What they're saying: "We are going to protect every San Franciscan in any way possible," Lurie said during a press conference. "We don't know exactly what the federal government is planning in San Francisco and across the Bay Area, but we do know this federal administration has a playbook."
State of play: The move follows Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's announcement that ICE agents will be sent to the city, and Trump calling to deploy the National Guard to San Francisco, though no announcement has been made about Guardsmen deploying to the city.
- The president has repeatedly threatened federal deployments into San Francisco and other Democratic-led cities as part of an anti-crime crackdown.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not confirm to Axios Wednesday that federal agents were being sent to the Bay Area, but it was reported by multiple media outlets who cited the Coast Guard confirming their arrival.
- DHS said in a statement that the department "is 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."
- "As it does every day, DHS law enforcement will enforce the laws of our nation," an unnamed spokesperson wrote in an email to Axios Wednesday.
The big picture: Nationwide raids have sparked widespread fear among immigrant communities. Many of those detained during Trump's second presidency have been found to be American citizens or to have no record of criminal offenses.