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The White House was preparing on Wednesday to send numerous of federal agents to the Bay Area region for a major immigration enforcement operation, sparking condemnation from California leaders.

Information of the Mission

Information of the mission were continuing to unfold, but it will reportedly involve approximately 100+ federal agents, based on information. The personnel are expected to begin utilizing the Coast Guard facility in Alameda, opposite San Francisco. It was not confirmed whether state soldiers would also be involved.

Official Backlash

The mission is the result of months of statements by the administration to target the Democratic-run city. Governor Gavin Newsom criticized the decision, describing it as “straight from the authoritarian playbook”.

“He sends out unidentified officers, he sends out border agents, he dispatches federal agents, he instills anxiety and fear in the community so that he can take credit for solving that by dispatching the military forces,” Newsom said. “This mirrors the firestarter extinguishing the fire.”

Local Preparation

San Francisco is the most recent major city targeted by the administration's initiative of large-scale detentions. The mission is anticipated to provoke a standoff between the White House and local leaders who have vowed to block armed border control in the city.

San Franciscans have been preparing for weeks for Trump to make good on ongoing warnings to deploy forces to the city. At a Wednesday media briefing, San Francisco’s mayor reiterated that the city was prepared.

“During this period, we have been anticipating the likelihood of an impending government operation in our city,” stated the official, adding that he had enacted new policies on Wednesday to “enhance the city’s protection of our newcomer populations, and ensure our departments are prepared prior to any national intervention.”

Constitutional Framework

In spite of legal challenges to missions in a multiple urban areas, including Illinois, the Pacific Northwest and Southern California, Trump has asserted “complete control” to deploy the state troops in cities, pointing to the presidential authority which permits presidents limited power to deploy troops on American territory.

Local Response

Newsom, who was formerly as San Francisco’s mayor – had vowed to intervene “right away” to a operation in the city. “The concept that the national administration can deploy troops into our cities with no legitimate cause supported by evidence, no monitoring, no accountability, disregard for state sovereignty – it’s a direct assault on the legal system,” he said on Wednesday.

Public associations, including advocacy organizations formed in the previous presidential term, have organized to rapidly assemble a mass rally in the city, as well as candlelight gatherings at public spaces.

Local Impact

In San Francisco’s Mission area, a mostly Latin American community, local representative told reporters last week she and her constituents had been bracing for this situation. “The moment that employees avoid workplaces, when minority individuals are afraid to go outdoors without the concern of Trump’s federal agents discriminating against and arresting them, the point when students avoid classrooms, grow too frightened to go to the grocery store or physician,” she said. “The readiness efforts in the Mission is essentially a closure the scale of which we have not witnessed since Covid.”

Military Situation

Approximately three hundred out of four thousand state state soldiers continue under national command under an order from Trump. About 200 of them had been transferred to the neighboring state, where they were waiting in limbo amid a legal battle over their deployment.

This time, Newsom said he had requested the California national guard troops under his command to staff distribution centers throughout the government shutdown.