Mayor Daniel Lurie has diligently resisted talking about President Donald Trump in public since taking office. The last week may require a change in that strategy.
On Sunday, Trump deployed 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles after days of raids and arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents sparked protests and physical confrontations with federal agents. Escalating tensions over the weekend included rocks being thrown at federal law enforcement vehicles, federal agents deploying flash-bang grenades and tear gas, and protesters setting Waymos on fire as thousands took to the streets.
By Sunday night, the unrest had spread to San Francisco. At a protest outside ICE’s local headquarters on Sansome Street, protesters hurled hammers and other objects at the building and got into shoving matches with police in riot gear, who used metal barricades to push them back. About 60 people were arrested.
Days earlier in San Francisco, roughly 15 people — including women and children as young as 3 — were taken into custody during check-in appointments at a downtown ICE office. One woman and her children, ages 5 and 10, were reportedly forced to sleep on the floor overnight and were not given food. As of Sunday, the woman had been shipped to a detention center in South Texas, according to ICE’s locator system.
On Sunday morning, organized labor in San Francisco convened an emergency meeting to discuss the effects of the escalation in immigration enforcement. Those in attendance at Sunday’s meeting included Lurie, labor leaders, the mayor, City Attorney David Chiu, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, state Sen. Scott Weiner, and local Democratic Party chair Nancy Tung. Officials met to strategize on how to educate residents on their rights and encourage peaceful protests.
Lurie apparently told those in attendance he was there to listen to their concerns and expressed that the safety of the immigrant community is a priority. A source said the mayor’s words were appreciated, but his public silence on Trump has been frustrating.
Unlike Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and Supervisor Jackie Fielder, both of whom quickly condemned ICE’s actions in San Francisco, Lurie waited until Friday afternoon to issue a statement about the arrests after being contacted multiple times by The Standard.
“These efforts to target members of our community who contribute to our city, support our economy, and raise their families here are meant to do the exact opposite and make San Francisco less safe,” Lurie said. “Holding children and families for extended periods without meeting basic needs is particularly cruel.”
The mayor added that he is in regular contact with immigrant advocates who organize the SF Rapid Response Network to act on ICE tips. But individuals involved in those efforts said that as of Friday afternoon they had not heard from Lurie’s office about Wednesday’s arrests.
“No, we haven’t been able to work with the mayor’s office, and we really need the mayor to step up and support immigrants,” said Sanika Mahajan, director of community organizing and engagement for Mission Action.
Gabriel Medina, executive director of La Raza Community Resource Center, said his team also has heard nothing from the Lurie administration.
“I think the mayor is trying to not make too much of a blip on the Trump radar,” Medina said. “What I would hope for is more communication internally that’s not public. I’m not seeing it looking at my channels now.”
Charles Lutvak, a spokesperson for the mayor, said the Lurie administration had reached out to people in the community after the ICE arrests, but he declined to provide details about when or with whom these conversations occurred.
Immigrant advocates say they have had productive conversations with San Francisco police, and Evan Sernoffsky, an SFPD spokesperson, issued a statement saying there is an interagency plan with the Sheriff’s Office to ensure people can peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights. However, he added, violence, property destruction, and other criminal activity will not be tolerated.
“Under longstanding city policy, local law enforcement officers are generally prohibited from assisting in the enforcement of federal immigration laws — that policy keeps our city safer, and we will continue to uphold it,” Sernoffsky said.
It’s unclear what role soldiers in Los Angeles have served beyond sowing fear and stoking protests, but the public outcry by state Democratic leaders has been swift and stern. Gov. Gavin Newsom called the troops a “spectacle” and “a serious breach of state sovereignty,” while Wiener, who represents San Francisco, called the use of federal forces to put down dissent “a core manifestation of fascism.”
It wasn’t until late Sunday night that Lurie broke his silence, on social media, about ICE activities. He did not directly address the women and children who were rounded up in San Francisco or Trump’s deployment of troops in Los Angeles, focusing mostly on the vandalism and clashes with police that led to arrests. Lurie ended the post by recycling past statements about his commitment to helping immigrants. It was a measured response, but it was at least something after other weekend Instagram posts about his frequent coffee consumption and attending a Giants game on Pride Day.
The closest Lurie has come to sparring with Trump was when the mayor noted that the president’s absurd idea to convert Alcatraz back to a prison was “not a serious proposal.” But as anxieties mount about Trump’s actions in California, Lurie’s ducking and weaving on what is causing the unrest may no longer be viable.
On Friday, the mayor’s office noted in an email to The Standard that it believed none of the people whom ICE arrested last week are San Francisco residents. If and when that changes, maybe it will be the time Lurie feels bold enough to talk directly about he who will not be named.