Donald Trump will not deploy federal agents to San Francisco, a surprising stand-down as the US president pressures Democratic-led cities around the country to step up enforcement against crime and illegal immigration.
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, a Democrat, on Thursday said on X that Trump called him on Wednesday night to tell him he was calling off any plans for a federal deployment. Lurie said the city would continue to partner with federal agencies to combat drug crime, but that "militarised immigration enforcement" would not help.
"We appreciate that the president understands that we are the global hub for technology, and when San Francisco is strong, our country is strong," Lurie said.
Trump confirmed the agreement in a post on Truth Social, saying the federal government had been preparing a surge in San Francisco but would cancel it.
"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," Trump said.
"The people of San Francisco have come together on fighting Crime, especially since we began to take charge of that very nasty subject."
Trump had indicated San Francisco would be a next stop for National Guard troops he was sending to various US Democratic-led cities, moves that have been challenged in courts.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported on Wednesday that the Trump administration would send more than 100 federal agents to the city to ramp up immigration enforcement.
Despite the apparent stand-down, a handful of US Border Patrol vehicles arrived at a US Coast Guard base in the Bay Area on Thursday morning and were met with several hundred protesters.
Demonstrators carried signs reading "Stop the Kidnappings" and "Protect Our Neighbours," with one protester smacking the window of a truck as it passed by. Federal agents eventually used less-lethal rounds to disperse the crowd, with protesters saying one person was injured by a projectile and that another had their foot run over.
Trump aims to deport record numbers of immigrants in the US illegally, portraying them as criminals and a drain on US communities. Democrats in major US cities have criticised the crackdown, saying it has terrorised law-abiding residents, separated families and hurt businesses.