San Francisco mayor says immigration raids called off after phone call with Trump

Nicole Nixon and Lia Russell, The Sacramento Bee on Oct 23, 2025

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Highly anticipated federal immigration raids in San Francisco were canceled after a phone call between Mayor Daniel Lurie and President Donald Trump, the mayor said on social media Thursday morning.

“Late last night, I received a phone call from the President of the United States. I told him the same thing I told our residents: San Francisco is on the rise. Visitors are coming back, buildings are getting leased and purchased, and workers are coming back to the office,” Lurie wrote.

The mayor, who was elected last year, said he “would welcome” partnership with federal agencies “to get drugs and drug dealers off our streets, but having the military and militarized immigration enforcement in our city will hinder our recovery.”

“In that conversation, the president told me clearly that he was calling off any plans for a federal deployment in San Francisco. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem reaffirmed that direction in our conversation this morning,” Lurie wrote, adding that his office would continue to monitor the situation.

The city and larger San Francisco Bay Area region had been on high alert since Wednesday when word spread that federal immigration agents would be deployed to San Francisco. Earlier Thursday, federal agents clashed with protesters at Coast Guard Island in Alameda, where the Trump administration was reported to have sent 100 agents for its planned operations in San Francisco.

It appeared to be the next liberal city targeted by the Trump administration, which has already deployed immigration enforcement agents National Guard troops to Los Angeles, Portland, Chicago, Memphis and Washington, D.C.

Legally, opponents of Trump’s rigorous immigration agenda can do little to stop the presence of federal agents in their states and cities. But Democratic leaders including Gov. Gavin Newsom have sued over federal control of the National Guard and its on-the-ground presence.

Numerous lawsuits are moving through federal courts over whether Trump has the authority to call up Guard troops in American cities without the support of governors. A ruling by the 9th Circuit federal appeals court earlier this week struck down one of two stays blocking the use of National Guard troops in Portland, Oregon.

Newsom had threatened to file a lawsuit the “nanosecond” military members enter San Francisco.

On Wednesday, Newsom deployed California National Guard members to help food banks during the federal government shutdown.

“That’s what I think we should use the National Guard for. Not this folly. Not this nonsense. Not this vanity project to show strength,” Newsom said at a press conference Wednesday. SNAP benefits, known as CalFresh in California, are expected to be delayed in November because of the shutdown. “I am profoundly grateful to all the San Franciscans who came together over the last several days,” Lurie said. “Our city leaders have been united behind the goal of public safety. And our values have been on full display — this is the best of our city.”

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