Federal agents will start arriving in the Bay Area on Thursday as part of a ramp-up of immigration enforcement operations in the region, the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed.
An “unknown number” of Customs and Border Protection operations will be based out of Coast Guard Island in the Oakland Estuary, the Coast Guard spokesman said.
“Base Alameda is preparing to support CBP agents starting tomorrow as a place of operations,” the spokesperson said.
The news follows days of rumors of mass immigration raids coming to San Francisco and the Bay Area, and follows similar actions in major cities like Los Angeles, Portland, Ore., and Chicago.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly mused about sending federal forces to San Francisco to target drug dealers, immigrants, and people who are homeless without articulating a specific plan.
The San Francisco Chronicle first reported (opens in new tab) news of a major immigration operation with more than 100 agents headed to the Bay Area.
A spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom said the current ramp-up in operations in the Bay Area follows the same playbook that the Trump administration followed in Los Angeles.
“President Trump and Stephen Miller’s authoritarian playbook is coming for another of our cities, and violence and vandalism are exactly what they’re looking for to invoke chaos,” Newsom tweeted (opens in new tab). “Help keep yourself and your communities safe. Remain peaceful.”
Starting in June, federal immigration agents carried out coordinated operations across Los Angeles, targeting workplaces and arresting more than 100 individuals. The actions led to a widespread community response, including protests and the declaration of a state of emergency by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
Fights over the authority of these federal agents have spilled into the courts. A federal judge issued an order that barred agents from relying solely on factors like race, accent, job, or location to justify stops. However, on Sept. 8, the U.S. Supreme Court lifted those restrictions as the underlying legal challenge proceeds, allowing federal agents to resume more expansive immigration stops in Los Angeles.
San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu and California Attorney General Rob Bonta had threatened to file immediate lawsuits if Trump ordered the National Guard to the city as an alleged unlawful act.
But a lawyer for the state arguing in federal court in Pasadena on Wednesday appeared to acknowledge that deploying federal law enforcement to California did not have to be held to the same standard as sending the military. This case centered on whether it was lawful for Trump to federalize the California National Guard, deploying soldiers to Los Angeles this summer.
“We are prepared to sue immediately if the President deploys National Guard troops to San Francisco, and we understand the anticipated increase in immigration enforcement in the area may be a precursor to that deployment,” a spokesperson for Bonta said in a statement.
“Federal agents like CBP can enforce immigration laws, but we will continue to monitor the Trump Administration’s actions closely for compliance with the law.”
Bay Area reaction
Bay Area politicians began responding to the looming surge of federal officers.
“When similar deployments have occurred in other cities what we’ve seen are overly aggressive immigration enforcement tactics that lead to protests and civil unrest,” said state Sen. Jesse Arreguin (D-Oakland) in a statement. “Terrorizing our communities doesn’t make us safer, it drives hardworking people into the shadows. We’re not safer when our immigrant community is too afraid to go to work, report crimes or criminals, bring their kids to school or go to the hospital.”
Mayor Daniel Lurie denounced the mission, even as its details were not yet in focus.
“We don’t exactly know what the federal government is planning in San Francisco and across the Bay Area, but we do know this federal administration has a playbook,” Lurie said. “In cities across the country, masked immigration officials are deployed to use aggressive enforcement tactics to instill fear so people don’t feel safe to go about their daily lives. These tactics are designed to incite backlash, chaos and violence, which are then used as an excuse to deploy military personnel. They are intentionally creating a dangerous situation in the name of public safety.”
San Francisco Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, who represents the Tenderloin, compared the current situation to his time living in Pakistan during high school.
“This is not the correct trajectory to be taking right now. As a city, I think it’s our moral duty and responsibility to stand up to make sure our residents are safe,” said Mahmood. “I lived under a dictatorship during my teenage years. I’ve seen firsthand when an autocrat, or a wannabe autocrat, weaponizes our constitution for personal gain.”
Supervisor Jackie Fielder, whose Mission District would likely be one of the epicenters of a federal immigration operation, said during a Tuesday board meeting she is expecting a “shutdown” similar to that of the Covid pandemic if President Donald Trump sends the National Guard into the city.
“In this moment it’s important to spread power, not panic,” Fielder said in a text message after news of the coming surge broke. “Everyone has rights in this country, regardless of their country of origin. Everyone has the right to remain silent, ask to speak to a lawyer, ask to see a warrant signed by a judge.”
The reaction was also swift among community organizations. James Baldwin Place, a sober living facility, sent messages to its participants warning them about possible altercations with federal law officers.
“Our best advice is to stay off the streets till this dies down,” said a text message.
The Alameda Unified School District also warned of potential immigration raids and asked residents to alert school principals or district officials if Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were spotted.
The Portland playbook
Chiu’s threatened legal action if Trump were to send federal troops to San Francisco appears to mirror a playbook other cities, including Portland, have taken to resist a militarized incursion by the Trump administration.
Trump announced he would deploy soldiers to Portland in a social media post on Sept. 27, but legal challenges — so far — have successfully blocked troops from entering the city.
Portland officials told The Standard in an interview on Wednesday that the city created an “incident command model” similar to the way its resources are coordinated to address the homelessness crisis. Portland’s Bureau of Emergency Management has worked with its Bureau of Public Safety, which includes policy and fire departments.
Meanwhile, the city’s mayor, Keith Wilson, has held news conferences with other mayors in the region, as well as faith leaders and community organizations in demonstrations of unity in opposition to Trump’s actions.