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The Trump administration appeared poised on Wednesday to dispatch dozens of federal agents to the San Francisco Bay Area for a major immigration enforcement operation, sparking condemnation from local politicians.

Details of the Deployment

Details of the deployment were still emerging, but it will reportedly involve more than 100 law enforcement personnel, as reported. The officers are expected to begin using the US Coast Guard base in Alameda, opposite San Francisco. It remained unclear whether state soldiers would participate.

Government Backlash

The mission comes after weeks of threats by the administration to take action against the liberal city. California’s governor Gavin Newsom criticized the move, describing it as “taken directly from the authoritarian playbook”.

“He dispatches covered agents, he deploys border agents, he sends out federal agents, he generates concern and apprehension in the community so that he can take credit for addressing that by deploying the military forces,” the governor stated. “This is exactly like the arsonist putting out the blaze.”

Municipal Preparation

San Francisco is the most recent large urban area singled out by the administration's initiative of large-scale detentions. The operation is anticipated to provoke a standoff between the federal government and local leaders who have pledged to stop militarized immigration enforcement in the city.

San Franciscans have been gearing up for weeks for Trump to carry out repeated threats to dispatch personnel to the city. At a Wednesday afternoon press conference, San Francisco’s city leader stated again that the city was equipped.

“For months, we have been preparing for the chance of some kind of government operation in our city,” declared the leader, noting that he had implemented additional measures on Wednesday to “enhance the city’s support for our newcomer populations, and guarantee our agencies are prepared ahead of any federal deployment.”

Legal Context

In spite of judicial disputes to missions in a number of cities, including the Windy City, Portland and Southern California, Trump has claimed “absolute authority” to send the national guard in cities, citing the presidential authority which allows presidents limited power to send forces on American territory.

Public Reaction

Newsom, who previously served as San Francisco’s mayor – had committed to take action “right away” to a deployment in the city. “The idea that the national administration can deploy troops into our cities with no legitimate cause grounded in reality, no supervision, no accountability, disregard for regional control – it constitutes an attack on the legal system,” he said on Wednesday.

Community groups, including advocacy organizations created during the initial federal leadership, have prepped to swiftly gather a mass rally in the city, as well as candlelight gatherings at public spaces.

Neighborhood Consequences

In San Francisco’s Mission area, a predominantly Latino community, local representative stated to media last week she and her voters had been bracing for this moment. “The moment that people stop going to work, when minority individuals cannot move about freely without the fear of national personnel targeting based on race and apprehending them, the point when parents stop sending kids to school, grow too frightened to go to the grocery store or doctor,” she said. “Our ongoing preparations in the Mission is basically a halt the likes of which we haven’t seen since the pandemic.”

State Troops Situation

Approximately three hundred out of four thousand state state soldiers continue under national command under an directive from Trump. About two hundred of them had been transferred to Oregon, where they were staying in standby during a legal battle over their assignment.

This period, Newsom said he had summoned the California national guard troops under his command to operate food banks during the government shutdown.