“Sending the National Guard to San Francisco… would not make the city safer or help it address the ongoing drug crisis.” – Mayor Daniel Lurie
By Vanguard Staff
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Mayor Daniel Lurie said Monday that sending the National Guard to San Francisco, as President Donald Trump has threatened, would not make the city safer or help it address the ongoing drug crisis.
In a statement released by the mayor’s office, Lurie said his top priority “every single day is keeping San Francisco safe.” He cited progress made under his administration, including record lows in violent crime and tent encampments. “With the support of local law enforcement, community leaders, and the appropriate federal law enforcement partners, we’re achieving that goal without compromising our values or our laws,” Lurie said.
The mayor emphasized that local law enforcement already works with state and federal agencies through the Drug Market Agency Coordination Center to shut down open-air drug markets. He said the city “would welcome stronger coordination with the FBI, DEA, ATF, and U.S. Attorney to execute targeted operations, arrest drug dealers, and disrupt drug markets and multinational cartels.”
“I trust our police officers, sheriff’s deputies, and district attorney to work together to keep our city safe—and with the right coordinated support from our state and federal partners they will have the tools to advance this critical work,” Lurie said.
However, Lurie firmly rejected Trump’s idea of deploying federal troops. “I am deeply grateful to the members of our military for their service to our country, but the National Guard does not have the authority to arrest drug dealers—and sending them to San Francisco will do nothing to get fentanyl off the streets or make our city safer,” he said.
Lurie’s statement followed Trump’s remarks on Fox News, where the president said he could invoke the Insurrection Act — a centuries-old law allowing presidents to deploy troops on U.S. soil — and that it would give him “unquestioned power.” Trump claimed San Francisco would be next, saying, “San Francisco was truly one of the great cities of the world. And then, 15 years ago, it went wrong. It went woke.”
Lurie did not mention Trump by name, consistent with his approach since taking office, but made clear the city does not want federal troops policing its streets. “Under my leadership, we will always protect the people and the values that make San Francisco the greatest city in the world,” Lurie said.
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins also condemned Trump’s plan, calling it “counterproductive to the success that we have been seeing in crime reduction.” Jenkins said the National Guard would have no authority to make arrests or investigate crime, and warned against “inhumane ICE raids (that) precede deployment — spreading fear, terror and chaos.”
“Let me be clear — no local or elected San Francisco leaders want the National Guard deployed to San Francisco at the direction of the Trump Administration,” Jenkins said. She added that while the city still has “more work to do to reduce crime,” it has “the necessary partnerships and resources to achieve this goal.”
Federal judges recently ruled that Trump’s earlier deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles violated the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits federally controlled troops from acting as local police. A separate appeals court ruling on Monday allowed the administration to proceed with deployments to Portland after overturning an earlier block.
Lurie concluded that San Francisco would continue to combat drug trafficking and crime through coordinated efforts between local, state, and federal agencies — not through military intervention. “As your mayor, that has been and always will be my north star,” he said.
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Categories: Breaking News Civil Rights San Francisco Tags: Brooke Jenkins Daniel Lurie Donald Trump Fentanyl Crisis Mayor Daniel Lurie National Guard President Donald Trump San Francisco San Francisco Police Department