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The Trump administration seemed ready on Wednesday to send dozens of federal agents to the San Francisco Bay Area for a major immigration enforcement operation, sparking criticism from local politicians.

Specifics of the Deployment

Specifics of the mission were gradually becoming clear, but it will reportedly involve more than 100 law enforcement personnel, according to reports. The officers are scheduled to begin using the Coast Guard facility in the East Bay, facing San Francisco. It was still uncertain whether state soldiers would participate.

Government Backlash

The mission comes after an extended period of warnings by the president to target the liberal city. California’s governor Gavin Newsom denounced the decision, labeling it “taken directly from the dictator’s handbook”.

“He sends out masked men, he dispatches customs officers, he dispatches ICE, he instills worry and terror in the community so that he can lay claim for handling that by dispatching the military forces,” he declared. “This is no different than the arsonist fighting the inferno.”

Municipal Preparation

San Francisco is the newest large urban area focused on by Donald Trump’s campaign of widespread apprehensions. The mission is likely to cause a showdown between the administration and local leaders who have pledged to block militarized immigration enforcement in the city.

San Franciscans have been readying for weeks for Trump to carry out repeated threats to send troops to the city. At a Wednesday afternoon press conference, San Francisco’s mayor emphasized that the city was equipped.

“During this period, we have been preparing for the possibility of an impending federal deployment in our city,” declared the leader, explaining that he had implemented additional measures on Wednesday to “bolster the city’s assistance to our newcomer populations, and guarantee our offices are organized ahead of any government operation.”

Constitutional Context

Regardless of court battles to missions in a several municipalities, including Chicago, the Pacific Northwest and Los Angeles, Trump has asserted “unquestioned power” to deploy the national guard in cities, referencing the federal statute which permits presidents limited power to dispatch personnel on domestic land.

Local Reaction

Newsom – who once held office as San Francisco’s chief executive – had pledged to step in “without delay” to a deployment in the city. “The notion that the White House can send forces into our cities with no justification based on facts, no monitoring, no accountability, no consideration of state sovereignty – it’s a direct assault on the judicial framework,” he said on Wednesday.

Public associations, including advocacy organizations established during the initial federal leadership, have prepped to swiftly gather a public demonstration in the city, as well as vigils at public spaces.

Community Impact

In San Francisco’s Mission district, a mostly Latin American population, elected official told reporters last week she and her residents had been anticipating this situation. “The time that workers cease employment, when anyone Black or brown can’t freely walk outside without the fear of government officers discriminating against and detaining them, the point when parents stop sending kids to school, are too scared to go to the food market or physician,” she said. “What we have been preparing for in the Mission is basically a closure the extent of which we have not experienced since the pandemic.”

Military Status

Approximately 300 out of four thousand state national guard troops stay under federal control under an directive from Trump. About several hundred of them had been transferred to the neighboring state, where they were staying in standby in the midst of a court case over their deployment.

This time, Newsom said he had summoned the California national guard troops under his control to operate charity kitchens throughout the government shutdown.