Mayor Daniel Lurie has finally spoken out against President Donald Trump\u2019s repeated threats to send the National Guard into San Francisco.<\/p>\n
Trump has for months now<\/a> talked about how he wants to send federal troops into the city, and he reiterated as much<\/a> in a Fox News interview Sunday, saying \u201cI think they want us in San Francisco.\u201d<\/p>\n Lurie responded a day later, saying in a news release Monday that violent crime is at its lowest levels since the 1950s and that the city\u2019s police department already works with federal law enforcement to target open-air drug markets.<\/p>\n \u201cI 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 \u2014 and sending them to San Francisco will do nothing to get fentanyl off the streets or make our city safer,\u201d Lurie said.<\/p>\n However, the mayor said he invites \u201cstronger coordination\u201d between the San Francisco Police Department and federal law enforcement, including the FBI, DEA, ATF, and the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office, to disrupt drug markets.<\/p>\n Since assuming office in January, Lurie has stayed mostly silent<\/a> about Trump\u2019s critiques of San Francisco and actions by his administration, including escalating raids and arrests<\/a> in the city by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.<\/p>\n When Salesforce founder Marc Benioff made headlines in recent weeks<\/a> by endorsing Trump\u2019s call for federal troops in San Francisco, the mayor responded by saying he trusts local law enforcement to handle crime in the city. But Lurie\u2019s remarks this week marked his most direct response yet to Trump\u2019s threats. <\/p>\n Other Democratic officials, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, have vociferously attacked<\/a> the president\u2019s rhetoric about federalizing law enforcement in blue states and cities.<\/p>\n \u201cOur message to the courts is clear \u2014 Trump is putting our members of the military on the front lines of a completely unlawful activation against American communities,\u201d Newsom said. \u201cWe won\u2019t stand for it and we implore the courts to affirm states\u2019 sovereign rights to handle any public safety matters at home.\u201d <\/p>\n Also on Monday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a brief (opens in new tab)<\/a> backing Illinois in its court battle against Trump deploying National Guard troops to Chicago. <\/p>\n On the same day in a separate case, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals determined in a 2-1 ruling (opens in new tab)<\/a> that Trump could send National Guard troops to Oregon because \u201cstate and local law enforcement have been unable or unwilling to assist the government\u2019s efforts to protect federal personnel and property\u201d at an ICE facility in Portland.<\/p>\n San Francisco Supervisor Jackie Fielder, who represents San Francisco’\u2019s Mission District, said she will make a motion on Tuesday to compel Lurie to come before the Board of Supervisors and explain what plans he has in place in the event Trump deploys federal troops to the city. <\/p>\n Progressive organizers have already announced a tentative protest schedule (opens in new tab)<\/a> for if and when federal troops enter the city. It will include a same-day rally and march at Embarcadero at 5 p.m. and vigils at local libraries the following day.<\/p>\n