GONZALEZ. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. WE WANT TO GET RIGHT TO KCRA 3’S MARICELA DE LA CRUZ. SHE JUST ARRIVED IN ALAMEDA. MARICELA, WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE OUT THERE RIGHT NOW? YEAH, LET’S SAY WE ARE RIGHT AT THE INTERSECTION OF EMBARCADERO AND DENNISON. YOU CAN SEE HERE DOZENS OF PROTESTERS. THEY ARRIVED HERE EARLY THIS MORNING PROTESTING AGAINST THE ARRIVAL OF IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT AGENTS. NOW, WE KNOW THAT EARLIER THIS MORNING THEY WERE TRYING TO BLOCK ACCESS TO THESE AGENTS SO THAT THEY COULDN’T GET INTO COAST GUARD ISLAND. WE CAN SEE THERE SOME U.S. COAST GUARD MEMBERS LINED UP THIS WAY, BLOCKING ANY OF THESE PROTESTERS. DEMONSTRATORS FROM TRYING TO GO INTO THE AREA. NOW, WE KNOW THAT THIS IS WHERE THE IMMIGRATION AGENTS ARE GOING TO BE BASED AT THIS TIME. NOW THEY ARE GOING TO BE DOING SOME OF THOSE IMMIGRATION OPERATIONS. WE DON’T KNOW WHAT THOSE OPERATIONS ARE GOING TO LOOK LIKE, BUT WE KNOW THAT THEY ARE GOING TO BE TRACKING UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS. NOW, EARLIER TODAY, PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP ALSO POSTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA THAT HE WAS PLANNING TO DEPLOY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT INTO SAN FRANCISCO ON SATURDAY. HOWEVER, SAID HE SAID THAT AFTER A FEW CONVERSATIONS, THAT WAS CHANGING. ALTHOUGH WE DON’T KNOW AT THIS TIME IF THAT MEANS THAT THE PRESIDENT IS CALLING OFF IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT BY BORDER PATROL AGENTS WHO ARE ALREADY OUT HERE IN THE BAY AREA. BUT THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE. IT LOOKS PRETTY PEACEFUL. YOU CAN SEE PEOPLE JUST LINED DOWN, LINED OUT HERE. AND THE U.S. COAST GUARD MEMBERS RIGHT BACK THERE. THAT’S ALL THE INFORMATION WE HAVE FOR NOW. WE’RE LIVE IN OAKLAND, MARICELA DE LA CRUZ. KCRA THREE NEWS. ALL RIGHT, MARICELA, WE WILL CONTINUE TO FOLLOW UP WITH YOU. I KNOW YOU JUST GOT THERE, SO HOPEFULLY WE’LL GIVE YOU A CHANCE TO TALK TO SOME OF THOSE PROTESTERS AND SEE HOW THIS DEVELOPS. THANK YOU. AND AS SHE JUST MENTIONED, MAYOR OF SAN FRANCISCO SAYS THERE WILL NOT BE A FEDERAL DEPLOYMENT IN HIS CITY. IN A STATEMENT THIS MORNING, MAYOR DANIEL LURIE SAID IN PART, LAST NIGHT I RECEIVED A PHONE CALL FROM THE PRESIDENT. I TOLD HIM SAN FRANCISCO IS ON THE RISE. VISITORS ARE COMING BACK. BUILDINGS ARE GETTING LEASED AND WORKERS ARE COMING BACK TO THE OFFICE. WE HAVE WORK TO DO AND WE WELCOME CONTINUED FEDERAL PARTNERSHIPS. BUT HAVING MILITARIZED IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT IN OUR CITY WILL HINDER OUR RECOVERY. PRESIDENT TRUMP CONFIRMED THE CHANGE IN PLANS WITH THIS POST ON SOCIAL MEDIA. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WAS PREPARING TO SURGE SAN FRANCISCO ON SATURDAY, BUT FRIENDS OF MINE ASKED ME NOT TO GO FORWARD BECAUSE MAYOR DANIEL LURIE WAS MAKING SUBSTANTIAL PROGRESS. HE HEARD FROM THE MAYOR LAST NIGHT WHO TOLD HIM THAT HE IS GOING TO EARNESTLY TRY TO MAKE HIS CITY BETTER ON HIS OWN. THE PRESIDENT HEARD HIM OUT. HE SAID, OKAY, I’LL GIVE YOU A CHANCE. WE’LL BE WATCHING. AND IF YOU NEED US, WE ARE HERE. AND IF I FEEL AS THOUGH YOU CONTINUE TO FAIL YOUR CITIZENS, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MAY HAVE TO STEP IN, BUT WE’LL CONTINUE TO WATCH SAN FRANCISCO AND THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT OPERATION HAS NOW BEEN PAUSED. SAN FRANCISCO CONGRESSWOMAN NANCY PELOSI ALSO RESPONDED TO THE PRESIDENT HALTING A FEDERAL OPERATION IN THE CITY, SAYING MAYOR DANIEL LURIE HAS DEMONSTRATED EXCEPTIONAL LEADERSHIP IN HIS STEADFAST COMMITMENT TO THE SAFETY AND WELL-BEING OF SAN FRANCISCANS. HE HAS UNDERSCORED THAT PUBLIC SAFETY MUST BE DRIVEN BY LOCAL PRIORITIES, RESPECTFUL OF OUR VALUES AND COMMUNITIES, AND WE WANT TO TAKE ANOTHER LIVE LOOK AT THOSE PROTESTS. AT THIS TIME, WE DO KNOW ONE PERSON WAS HURT EARLIER TODAY AFTER AN SUV REPORTEDLY DROVE OVER THE DEMONSTRATORS FOOT. THAT MAN WAS HELPED TO A SIDEWALK AND IS DOING OKAY. AS YOU CAN SEE, DEMONSTRATORS ARE STILL OUT THERE RIGHT NOW. IT LOOKS PRETTY PEACEFUL. PEOPLE KIND OF STANDING AROUND SHOUTING, THEY’VE GOT SIGNS AND FLAGS. BUT WE WILL CONTINUE TO FOLLOW THIS BREAKING NEW
What to know about Coast Guard Island in California, where federal agents have headed
Federal immigration agents were greeted by protests in the San Francisco Bay Area on their way out to a century-old, government-owned artificial island that houses a U.S. Coast Guard base.
Updated: 12:11 PM PDT Oct 23, 2025
Federal immigration agents were greeted by protests Thursday in the San Francisco Bay Area on their way out to a century-old, government-owned artificial island that houses a U.S. Coast Guard base.U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents began arriving at Coast Guard Island to support federal efforts to track down immigrants in the country illegally. The Coast Guard is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, along with Customs and Border Protection, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.A statement provided to the news media by the Coast Guard said that “through a whole of government approach, we are leveraging our unique authorities and capabilities to detect, deter, and interdict illegal aliens, narco-terrorists, and individuals intent on terrorism or other hostile activity before they reach our border.”President Donald Trump then said Thursday that he’s backing off a planned surge of federal agents into San Francisco after speaking to the mayor. It was not clear if the president was canceling a National Guard deployment or calling off immigration enforcement by CBP agents.Coast Guard Island is a 67-acre manmade island formed in 1913 in the Oakland Estuary between Oakland and Alameda. It is federally owned, does not allow visitors from the general public without an escort or specific government identification, and has been home to the current base, Base Alameda, since 2012, according to a Coast Guard document from 2016.Base Alameda provides a variety of services for Coast Guard activities throughout the West Coast.The island was built partly to deal with sanitation problems in Alameda through an 1873 proposed tidal canal. By 1918, the island built using reclaimed mud from dredging was ready to be occupied. Its first tenant was the San Francisco Shipbuilding Company, which made two ships before closing in 1921.The Coast Guard first came to the island in 1926 when it established a base there. The Coast Guard used the land for various purposes, including a training center set up in the 1940s and closed in 1982. That year, the Coast Guard established Support Center Alameda and the island was renamed Coast Guard Island.Ultimately, in February 2012, the Coast Guard set up Base Alameda on the island, combining several existing operations to set up departments in the base.According to the 2016 Coast Guard document, Coast Guard Island employs more than 1,200 people during the workday, including active duty military, Coast Guard Reserve, civilians, contractors and occasional Guard Auxiliary personnel.The island has a perimeter of about 1.25 miles.The base is the home port for four so-called national security cutters — ships that are 418 feet long, 54 feet wide, with a top speed over 28 knots, a range of 12,000 nautical miles, endurance up to 90 days, and capacity for a crew of up to 170, according to the Coast Guard.One of them just recently returned from an Arctic deployment of more than 21,000 nautical miles.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
Federal immigration agents were greeted by protests Thursday in the San Francisco Bay Area on their way out to a century-old, government-owned artificial island that houses a U.S. Coast Guard base.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents began arriving at Coast Guard Island to support federal efforts to track down immigrants in the country illegally. The Coast Guard is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, along with Customs and Border Protection, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
A statement provided to the news media by the Coast Guard said that “through a whole of government approach, we are leveraging our unique authorities and capabilities to detect, deter, and interdict illegal aliens, narco-terrorists, and individuals intent on terrorism or other hostile activity before they reach our border.”
President Donald Trump then said Thursday that he’s backing off a planned surge of federal agents into San Francisco after speaking to the mayor. It was not clear if the president was canceling a National Guard deployment or calling off immigration enforcement by CBP agents.
Coast Guard Island is a 67-acre manmade island formed in 1913 in the Oakland Estuary between Oakland and Alameda. It is federally owned, does not allow visitors from the general public without an escort or specific government identification, and has been home to the current base, Base Alameda, since 2012, according to a Coast Guard document from 2016.
Base Alameda provides a variety of services for Coast Guard activities throughout the West Coast.
The island was built partly to deal with sanitation problems in Alameda through an 1873 proposed tidal canal. By 1918, the island built using reclaimed mud from dredging was ready to be occupied. Its first tenant was the San Francisco Shipbuilding Company, which made two ships before closing in 1921.
The Coast Guard first came to the island in 1926 when it established a base there. The Coast Guard used the land for various purposes, including a training center set up in the 1940s and closed in 1982. That year, the Coast Guard established Support Center Alameda and the island was renamed Coast Guard Island.
Ultimately, in February 2012, the Coast Guard set up Base Alameda on the island, combining several existing operations to set up departments in the base.
According to the 2016 Coast Guard document, Coast Guard Island employs more than 1,200 people during the workday, including active duty military, Coast Guard Reserve, civilians, contractors and occasional Guard Auxiliary personnel.
The island has a perimeter of about 1.25 miles.
The base is the home port for four so-called national security cutters — ships that are 418 feet long, 54 feet wide, with a top speed over 28 knots, a range of 12,000 nautical miles, endurance up to 90 days, and capacity for a crew of up to 170, according to the Coast Guard.
One of them just recently returned from an Arctic deployment of more than 21,000 nautical miles.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel