San Francisco residents prefer streets free of armed soldiers and fear a National Guard occupation similar to deployments in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles. Several governors contributed Guard troops to Washington, enabling a recent military presence despite local opposition. The federal government may seek justification to send Guard units into sanctuary cities such as San Francisco, Chicago, and Baltimore. Such troops could surround City Hall, intimidate officials and protesters, and guard locations where immigrants face arrest and deportation. A pre-emptive strategy would have the governor invite unarmed California National Guard units to protect immigrants, unhoused residents, and other city inhabitants.
As a resident of San Francisco who prefers to see urban streets free of armed soldiers, I'd rather not have the National Guard occupy our city, as it already has occupied Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles. The recent military takeover of Washington by Donald Trump and his army has been abetted by the governors of West Virginia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Ohio, South Carolina, and Louisiana who voluntarily contributed some of their National Guard troops to the Washington bivouac,
Trump is eagerly seeking an excuse to send some of the National Guard -if not our state's, then Ohio's, or Tennessee's, or Louisiana's- into our sanctuary city, as well as Chicago and Baltimore. (He only invades cities run by Democrats.) I expect the soldiers will surround City Hall, intimidate the mayor and the Board of Supervisors and protesters, and guard the buildings where immigrants seeking asylum or visas will be subjected to arrest and deportation by masked men who purport to work for ICE.
To avoid this debacle, I modestly propose that Governor Gavin Newsom immediately invite some California National Guard troops into San Francisco, minus their weapons, and order them to protect immigrants and unhoused residents, as well as the rest of us. The governor is already mimicking Trump's rhetoric in text messages, but Newsom's messages call for democratic action instead of authoritarianism.
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