Former President Donald Trump has called off his plan to send federal and immigration agents to San Francisco, a move that had sparked outrage from California leaders and protests in the streets. The decision came right after he spoke with the city’s mayor, Daniel Lurie, and just like that, everything got put on hold.
What’s surprising is how fast it all changed. Only a few hours before the announcement, the Trump administration seemed ready to go ahead with the deployment. But after one polite conversation with the mayor, the plan was completely reversed. The sudden change immediately calmed what was turning into a serious standoff in the Bay Area.
The tension started when reports came out on Wednesday that Trump planned to send over a hundred federal agents, including Customs and Border Protection officers, to a Coast Guard base in Alameda, just across the bay from San Francisco. This wasn’t meant to be a small local mission, it was part of a larger immigration enforcement push, according to The Guardian.
California officials were furious. They called the plan an unnecessary and political overreach of federal power. Leaders from across the state promised to fight it, saying it violated local authority and community trust. But it wasn’t just politicians who were angry. By early Thursday morning, even before Trump’s cancellation was official, hundreds of protesters had gathered outside the Alameda base holding signs that read things like “No ICE or Troops in the Bay!”
Then came Trump’s post on social media. Out of nowhere, he said he had spoken with Mayor Lurie and decided to cancel the whole thing. His reason was simple: “I spoke to Mayor Lurie last night and he asked, very nicely, that I give him a chance to see if he can turn it around.”
The turnaround shocked everyone. What was shaping up to be a major federal operation with national attention ended in less than a day, all because the mayor politely asked Trump to stop.
For San Francisco, it’s a clear victory. The community avoided the presence of federal immigration agents and a potential clash with protesters. But for Trump’s team, the optics are odd. It makes the administration look like it backed down after one calm phone call, leaving many people wondering how serious the plan really was in the first place.
