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The Trump administration seemed ready on Wednesday to deploy dozens of federal agents to the Bay Area region for a major border security initiative, prompting criticism from California leaders.

Specifics of the Mission

Information of the mission were still emerging, but it will reportedly involve approximately 100+ federal agents, based on information. The agents are reportedly set to begin utilizing the US Coast Guard base in across the bay, opposite San Francisco. It was still uncertain whether national guard troops would join the operation.

Official Response

The operation follows weeks of warnings by Donald Trump to take action against the progressive municipality. California’s governor Gavin Newsom condemned the action, labeling it “right out of the authoritarian playbook”.

“He dispatches unidentified officers, he sends out customs officers, he sends out federal agents, he instills worry and terror in the community so that he can take credit for solving that by deploying the military forces,” Newsom said. “This is exactly like the firestarter putting out the inferno.”

Local Preparation

San Francisco is the most recent major city singled out by the federal effort of large-scale detentions. The operation is anticipated to provoke a confrontation between the federal government and local leaders who have vowed to block paramilitary operations in the city.

San Franciscans have been readying for weeks for Trump to make good on frequent statements to send troops to the city. At a Wednesday media briefing, San Francisco’s city leader emphasized that the city was ready.

“During this period, we have been preparing for the chance of an impending government operation in our city,” declared the leader, adding that he had enacted new policies on Wednesday to “bolster the city’s support for our immigrant communities, and make certain our agencies are prepared ahead of any national intervention.”

Legal Framework

In spite of legal challenges to operations in a several municipalities, including the Windy City, Portland and Los Angeles, Trump has claimed “complete control” to send the state troops in cities, citing the federal statute which permits presidents specific authority to deploy troops on US soil.

Community Reaction

Newsom, who was formerly as San Francisco’s city leader – had committed to take action “right away” to a operation in the city. “The concept that the national administration can deploy troops into our cities with no valid reason grounded in reality, no monitoring, no answerability, no consideration of local authority – it represents an infringement on the rule of law,” he said on Wednesday.

Public associations, including civil rights groups formed in the initial federal leadership, have organized to quickly mobilize a large protest in the city, as well as candlelight gatherings at community centers.

Local Impact

In San Francisco’s Mission neighborhood, a predominantly Latino community, elected official told reporters last week she and her constituents had been anticipating this moment. “The time that employees avoid workplaces, when anyone Black or brown cannot move about freely without the fear of Trump’s federal agents discriminating against and apprehending them, the time when students avoid classrooms, grow too frightened to go to the food market or medical provider,” she said. “Our ongoing preparations in the Mission is fundamentally a shutdown the likes of which we haven’t seen since the health crisis.”

State Troops Situation

Roughly 300 out of 4,000 regional military personnel continue under national command under an directive from Trump. About two hundred of them had been dispatched to Oregon, where they were remaining in uncertainty during a judicial dispute over their mission.

This period, Newsom said he had called the California national guard troops under his authority to staff charity kitchens amid the administrative stoppage.