State and local leaders are pushing back as federal immigration enforcement agents are headed to the Bay Area.
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Luried held a press conference Wednesday detailing how the city was preparing for the federal immigration operation in the city.
San Francisco law enforcement officials and multiple supervisors stood around Lurie as he gave his speech.
“This doesn’t make our city safer, it terrorizes our communities,” Lurie said. “We don’t exactly know what the federal government is planning in San Francisco and across the Bay Area, but we do know this federal administration has a playbook in cities across the country.”
Lurie urged the public to remain calm and protest peacefully.
“If federal officials come to incite chaos on the streets of San Francisco, the way to support our communities and keep everyone in our city safe is to make our voices heard peacefully,” he said. “Violence and destruction will only open the door to a more aggressive response, and that puts our communities at greater risk.”
Lurie also announced that he signed an executive directive Wednesday designed to prepare for the impacts related to the deployment of federal troops to the city. The directive includes actions to bolster support for immigrant communities and also coordinate local law enforcement and the city’s Department of Emergency Management to help promote public safety.