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The White House was preparing on Wednesday to dispatch scores of federal agents to the San Francisco Bay Area for a major crackdown on immigration, sparking condemnation from state officials.

Specifics of the Operation

Details of the operation were continuing to unfold, but it will allegedly feature approximately 100+ law enforcement personnel, according to reports. The officers are scheduled to begin occupying the military installation in across the bay, across the bay from San Francisco. It remained unclear whether state soldiers would participate.

Political Response

The mission follows an extended period of statements by Donald Trump to focus on the progressive municipality. The state's leader Gavin Newsom condemned the decision, calling it “right out of the authoritarian playbook”.

“He sends out masked men, he sends out Border Patrol, he sends out ICE, he creates anxiety and fear in the community so that he can claim credit for handling that by sending in the state troops,” the governor stated. “This is no different than the firestarter fighting the fire.”

Municipal Preparation

San Francisco is the latest major city singled out by the federal effort of large-scale detentions. The mission is expected to trigger a showdown between the federal government and local leaders who have committed to block paramilitary operations in the city.

San Franciscans have been preparing for an extended period for Trump to make good on repeated threats to deploy forces to the city. At a Wednesday media briefing, San Francisco’s mayor reiterated that the city was prepared.

“For months, we have been anticipating the likelihood of an impending national intervention in our city,” declared the leader, explaining that he had enacted new policies on Wednesday to “enhance the city’s protection of our foreign-born residents, and guarantee our departments are prepared before any federal deployment.”

Legal Background

Regardless of legal challenges to deployments in a several municipalities, including Illinois, the Pacific Northwest and LA, Trump has asserted “complete control” to deploy the military forces in cities, referencing the presidential authority which allows presidents specific authority to deploy troops on American territory.

Public Reaction

The governor, who once held office as San Francisco’s chief executive – had pledged to take action “immediately” to a operation in the city. “The idea that the federal government can deploy troops into our cities with no justification grounded in reality, no supervision, no answerability, no consideration of local authority – it constitutes an attack on the judicial framework,” he said on Wednesday.

Community groups, including advocacy organizations formed in the initial federal leadership, have prepped to rapidly assemble a large protest in the city, as well as peaceful assemblies at public spaces.

Local Consequences

In San Francisco’s Mission area, a largely Hispanic community, city supervisor told reporters last week she and her constituents had been preparing for this moment. “The moment that employees avoid workplaces, when minority individuals cannot move about freely without the fear of national personnel targeting based on race and detaining them, the point when parents stop sending kids to school, are too scared to go to the supermarket or medical provider,” she said. “Our ongoing preparations in the Mission is essentially a halt the extent of which we have not witnessed since the health crisis.”

State Troops Situation

Roughly several hundred out of 4,000 California national guard troops stay under federal control under an directive from Trump. About several hundred of them had been transferred to the neighboring state, where they were staying in standby during a judicial dispute over their deployment.

This time, Newsom said he had requested the local soldiers under his authority to manage distribution centers during the administrative stoppage.