By Randall Yip, Executive Editor
President Trump announced this morning he has called off plans to send federal troops to the San Francisco Bay Area, but leaders there remain skeptical.
The announcement came about two hours after an incident outside Coast Guard Island in Alameda east of San Francisco. Border patrol agents fired flash grenades to clear a group of protesters blocking the entrance to prevent them from entering the base where they are reportedly staging. At least two demonstrators sustained injuries, including one who suffered a possible broken foot when a border patrol vehicle ran over it, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Faith and labor leaders held a news conference in front of City Hall in San Francisco this afternoon, attended virtually by AsAmNews. They responded to the latest news and vowed to remain vigilant.
“We are standing strong together, with resources. We have each other’s back,” said Supervisor Chyanne Chen (D-District 11). “Our commitment is unwavering. We have to do our part to know our rights and also know how we protect each other.”
Later, Reverend Deborah Lee of the United Church of Christ took the podium.
“This is no time for silence. It’s no time for complacency. It’s time for us to speak,” said the Reverend who described herself as a second generation Chinese American. “It’s a time for us to be active. And those of us in the faith community…our faith traditions tell us that the government should be for the good of the people and should not be used to invade and repress communities.”
In his announcement, President Trump said Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie reached out asking him to call off the troops.
“Friends of mine who live in the area called last night to ask me not to go forward with the surge in that the Mayor, Daniel Lurie, was making substantial progress. I spoke to Mayor Lurie last night and he asked, very nicely, that I give him a chance to see if he can turn it around. I told him I think he is making a mistake, 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?”
Trump had been vowing for several weeks to send troops to San Francisco to fight crime. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff had said he would support such a move and urged the President to do so. Benioff later apologized and backed off from that request following push back from city leaders.
The President has already sent troops to Democrat-lead cities in Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, DC, Portland, OR and Memphis, TN.
Prior to the announcement, Chinese for Affirmative Action and the Asian Law Caucus, both based in San Francisco, made the following statements.
“We will not be divided, intimidated, or occupied. We stand united in defense of our values, our neighbors, and our constitutional rights,” CAA said.
“Our primary concern is keeping community members safe and ensuring they have the information and legal support they need to protect themselves and their families,” Aarti Kohli, executive director of the Asian Law Caucus said in a statement. “We encourage anyone who may be affected to be prepared and familiarize themselves with resources and Rapid Response Networks.”
Registration is closed for Common Ground: Building Together conference and gala award banquet in San Francisco on January 24. A shoutout to our planning committee: Jane Chin, Frank Mah, Jeannie Young, Akemi Tamanaha, Nathan Soohoo, Mark Young, Dave Liu, and Yiming Fu.
We are published by the non-profit Asian American Media Inc and supported by our readers along with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, AARP, The Henri and Tomoye Takahashi Charitable Foundation, The Asian American Foundation & Koo and Patricia Yuen of the Yuen Foundation.
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