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The Trump administration was preparing on Wednesday to dispatch numerous of federal agents to the northern California for a significant border security initiative, triggering criticism from California leaders.

Details of the Deployment

Specifics of the deployment were continuing to unfold, but it will reportedly include approximately 100+ law enforcement personnel, according to reports. The personnel are reportedly set to begin utilizing the US Coast Guard base in the East Bay, across the bay from San Francisco. It remained unclear whether military personnel would also be involved.

Political Reaction

The mission comes after weeks of warnings by the administration to take action against the Democratic-run city. California’s governor Gavin Newsom condemned the move, describing it as “right out of the authoritarian playbook”.

“He sends out masked men, he deploys customs officers, he dispatches immigration officials, he instills worry and terror in the population so that he can take credit for handling that by deploying the state troops,” the governor stated. “This is no different than the firestarter putting out the fire.”

Municipal Planning

San Francisco is the latest major city targeted by Donald Trump’s campaign of mass immigration arrests. The operation is expected to trigger a standoff between the administration and local leaders who have committed to block militarized immigration enforcement in the city.

San Franciscans have been gearing up for months for Trump to fulfill frequent statements to send troops to the city. At a Wednesday public announcement, San Francisco’s city leader stated again that the city was ready.

“Over recent weeks, we have been preparing for the likelihood of an impending federal deployment in our city,” declared the leader, explaining that he had enacted new policies on Wednesday to “bolster the city’s protection of our immigrant communities, and ensure our offices are coordinated before any federal deployment.”

Legal Context

Regardless of legal challenges to missions in a number of cities, including Chicago, Oregon and LA, Trump has asserted “absolute authority” to send the state troops in cities, referencing the federal statute which enables presidents certain rights to dispatch personnel on American territory.

Local Response

The governor, who was formerly as San Francisco’s chief executive – had committed to intervene “right away” to a deployment in the city. “The concept that the White House can deploy troops into our cities with no justification supported by evidence, no supervision, no accountability, no consideration of regional control – it’s a direct assault on the judicial framework,” he said on Wednesday.

Public associations, including civil rights groups formed in the previous presidential term, have prepped to quickly mobilize a large protest in the city, as well as peaceful assemblies at public spaces.

Local Effect

In San Francisco’s Mission district, a largely Hispanic neighborhood, city supervisor told reporters last week she and her constituents had been anticipating this moment. “The moment that employees avoid workplaces, when people of color cannot move about freely without the fear of national personnel targeting based on race and detaining them, the point when families keep children home, become too afraid to go to the supermarket or physician,” she said. “Our ongoing preparations in the Mission is essentially a halt the likes of which we have not witnessed since Covid.”

National Guard Status

About 300 out of 4,000 state military personnel continue under national command under an directive from Trump. Roughly two hundred of them had been sent to the Pacific Northwest, where they were waiting in limbo during a legal battle over their deployment.

This period, Newsom said he had requested the local soldiers under his command to operate charity kitchens during the government shutdown.