SAN FRANCISCO – The immigration operation that was supposed to occur in the Bay Area on Thursday, was stopped even before it got started, KTVU has learned, and stems from a late-night phone call between San Francisco’s mayor and President Donald Trump. Â
Immigration operation pausedÂ
“The president’s conversation with the San Francisco mayor last night and his statement proves the president is willing to work with anyone across the aisle, across the country to do the right thing, to clean up America’s cities,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “He is genuinely interested in this effort to make our streets safer, to make our cities safe and clean again, and he heard from the mayor last night that he’s going to try to make his city better on his own. He said, ‘OK, we’ll give you a chance, we’ll be watching, and if you need us, we’re here. And if I feel you continue to fail your citizens, the federal government may have to step in, we’ll continue to watch San Francisco, that law enforcement operation has now been paused.’”
Two federal officials with knowledge of the situation confirmed to KTVU that their understanding was that the 100 Customs and Border Protection officers that were sent to Coast Guard Island in Alameda were called off their entire operation.Â
What the officers were going to do exactly was unclear, but one federal source who requested anonymity said the Border Patrol Officers were supposed to conduct an operation with “pre-identified” targets, which would have likely included going to Home Depots around the Bay Area, as there are often undocumented immigrants there. Border Patrol is the law enforcement arm of CBP.
The source said the operation was supposed to have tamped up this weekend.Â
Late-night phone call 
The surprise move came after Mayor Daniel Lurie and Trump spoke late Wednesday night, where Lurie said the president “told me clearly that he was calling off any plans for a federal deployment in San Francisco. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem reaffirmed that direction in our conversation this morning.”
Lurie said that in that conversation, he reiterated to Trump that San Francisco is “on the rise. Visitors are coming back, buildings are getting leased and purchased, and workers are coming back to the office.”
Lurie said he told the president that he would “welcome continued partnerships with the FBI, DEA, ATF, and U.S. Attorney to get drugs and drug dealers off our streets, but having the military and militarized immigration enforcement in our city will hinder our recovery.”
Trump confirmed Lurie’s statement, saying that while the federal government was preparing to “surge” San Francisco, “friends of mine” called him to ask him to refrain.
“I told him I think he is making a mistake,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Because we can do it much faster, and remove the criminals that the Law does not permit him to remove. I told him, “It’s an easier process if we do it, faster, stronger, and safer but, let’s see how you do?”
Still, Trump wrote that Lurie was making “substantial progress” in San Francisco and that he is giving him a chance to see if he can turn the city around.
Lurie, unlike California Gov. Gavin Newsom, has not criticized Trump publicly, and barely even mentioned his name at news conferences.
Lurie said Trump called him.
“He picked up the phone and called me,” Lurie said at a news conference.Â
Authorities deploy flash bang devices to quell protesters at Coast Guard Island. Oct. 23, 2025Â
Protests got tense
Before the immigration operation was paused, about 300 protesters gathered at Coast Guard Island in Alameda where Border Patrol officers were seen driving on site, and where Bay Area immigrant advocacy groups had gathered to decry deportations.
Most of the protests were peaceful, with people carrying signs and singing.
But there was one tense moment, when, early in the morning, some protesters banged on a Border Patrol truck, and in response, authorities deployed flash bang devices. Two protesters said they were hurt.Â