Speaking Thursday during a police conference in Nashville, minutes after being fired as Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem praised San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s cooperation with the federal government pertaining to its local enforcement efforts.
During the Q&A, San Francisco Police Officers Association Vice President Chris Galligan asked Noem whether or not the federal government could help reimburse local law enforcement for the work they do at events like the recent Super Bowl.
“You maybe have some challenges in San Francisco just because of your state laws and local laws,” Noem replied. “Although you’ve got a mayor that works with us very well. He probably doesn’t want me to talk about it a lot, actually. But he has been cooperative and we have great conversations and talk quite often.”
While Noem did not specifically mention immigration enforcement in San Francisco, DHS has carried out such efforts across the Bay Area.
“I think the city is seeing some dramatic improvements under this leadership,” said Noem.
The mayor’s office declined to comment. DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In October, Lurie was able to ward off immigration raids in San Francisco after speaking with President Donald Trump by phone. Tech scions also reached out to the president and convinced him that the city’s public safety issues were under control. The exact nature of the call, which lasted 25 minutes on the evening of Oct. 22, is not known, and the mayor’s office has declined to release any records related to it, citing attorney-client privilege (opens in new tab).
Following the threatened surge from the president, SFPD brass acknowledged that increased drug enforcement operations were motivated by the conversations Lurie had with Trump.
Lurie has had to walk a fine line since then, reiterating San Francisco’s sanctuary laws that bar it from working with immigration authorities while talking up the city’s work with federal law enforcement on public safety. Lurie said he has spoken with Attorney General Pam Bondi about working with federal law enforcement to tackle street issues, and he is in favor of “stronger coordination” between SFPD and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Agency. The partnership has drawn ire from progressive circles, including Supervisor Jackie Fielder (opens in new tab), who told the mayor in October that welcoming federal agencies into the city could lead to increased immigration action.