The Trump administration has prepared to expand its nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration in the San Francisco area with a team of Border Patrol agents, two U.S. officials familiar with the internal plans told CBS News on Wednesday.
The officials, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said Border Patrol operations in the Northern California region could begin as soon as the end of the week, but the timeline could change.
One of the U.S. officials said Border Patrol agents would travel to the U.S. Coast Guard base in Alameda, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) from San Francisco. The plan was reported earlier Wednesday by the San Francisco Chronicle. The Department of Homeland Security oversees Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the U.S. Coast Guard.
U.S. officials said the Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovinoone of the most visible faces of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, is expected to be involved in the operation. Bovino is currently leading Border Patrol arrests in Chicagowhere a judge on Monday ordered him to answer questions about the officers’ use of force during these operations. He also oversaw the agency’s controversial project immigration raids in Los Angeles region this summer.
In response to CBS News’ request for comment, a DHS spokesperson said: “DHS targets the worst of the worst illegal alien criminals – including murderers, rapists, gang members, pedophiles and terrorists – in cities like Portland, Chicago, Memphis and San Francisco. As they do every day, DHS law enforcement will enforce our nation’s laws.
In a video posted on social media on Wednesday, Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom denounced the Trump administration’s plans, accusing the president of seeking to create “conditions of anxiety” in American cities.
“He sends masked men, he sends border patrol. He sends ICE, creates anxiety and fear in the community, so he can pretend to solve this problem by sending the Guard in the first place,” Newsom said.
President Trump recently floated the idea of send federal agents to San Francisco.
“We’re going to go to San Francisco. The difference is I think they want us in San Francisco,” Mr. Trump said in a Fox News interview broadcast over the weekend.
On Wednesday, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said local residents would protest peacefully if the Trump administration used “anti-American tactics to target immigrant communities” in the area.
“This federal administration wants to divide us, but we know that San Francisco is stronger when we come together to defend our values,” Lurie added.
As part of an aggressive expansion of deportation efforts across the country, the Trump administration has deployed teams of Border Patrol agents to major Democratic-run U.S. cities far from the U.S. border.
As federal immigration agents, Border Patrol agents have the legal authority to arrest people suspected of being in the United States illegally, anywhere in the country. However, they have extended their search powers to areas near coastal or land borders.
In recent weeks, the Border Patrol has made immigration-related arrests throughout the Chicago area, sometimes in operations at construction sites and in public places that have attracted attention. local reaction. Earlier this year, the Border Patrol launched a similar campaign in the Los Angeles area, arresting suspected illegal immigrants in Los Angeles. Home Depot Parking Lotscar washes and other places.
