What we covered here
• President Donald Trump says he’s no longer planning to “surge” federal law enforcement and immigration resources to San Francisco, citing conversations with “friends” in the area and the city’s mayor.
• Legal disputes are unfolding in Democratic-led cities where the Trump administration is pushing to deploy troops in response to what it claims is violent resistance to immigration enforcement.
• In Illinois, a federal judge who has said the White House is “equating protests with riots,” extended an order temporarily blocking National Guard troops from being sent to the state. Trump is urging the Supreme Court to allow the deployment in Chicago.
• And Oregon, with the city of Portland, is pushing for an appeals court to reconsider a ruling allowing the federal government to deploy the National Guard.
Our live coverage of the Trump administration’s crime and immigration crackdown has moved. Follow the latest updates here or scroll through the posts below to get caught up.
Law enforcement fired shots at U-Haul truck outside Coast Guard base in Alameda
Law enforcement officers fired shots at a U-Haul truck backing toward them outside the Coast Guard base in Alameda, California, where a protest had taken place against an anticipated federal deployment in the San Francisco Bay Area.
At around 10:00 p.m. Thursday, Coast Guard security observed “a vehicle driving erratically and attempting to back into Coast Guard Base Alameda,” Coast Guard spokesperson Sondra-Kay Kneen told CNN in a statement.
The spokesperson said the driver ignored their repeated commands to stop and continued reversing.
No Coast Guard members were injured during the incident, Kneen said. It remains unclear if anyone else was injured or detained.
A KPIX photographer at the scene, Rick Villaroman, said the U-Haul had been parked outside the base “all day.”
“It seemed like he was just getting a little more courageous. Bystanders were saying, ‘Don’t do it. It’s not worth it,’” Villaroman told a reporter at CNN affiliate KPIX. But despite the warnings, the driver accelerated, he said.
The driver fled after the shooting, according to Villaroman, who told the reporter he saw multiple bullet holes in the U-Haul afterwards.
Police in Oakland, where the entrance to Coast Guard Base Alameda is located, and the California Highway Patrol, which arrested two people at the protest, did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.
CNN has also reached out to the Alameda Police Department and the Department of Homeland Security for details.
Two arrested after protest blocked access to Coast Guard Island
Two people were arrested Thursday outside Coast Guard Island in Alameda after the California Highway Patrol declared a protest an unlawful assembly, a CHP spokesperson said.
Protesters had blocked Customs and Border Protection vehicles outside the Coast Guard base in opposition to an anticipated deployment of federal agents to the area.
President Donald Trump has since called off plans to “surge” federal law enforcement and immigration resources to the San Francisco Bay Area, citing conversations with “friends” and the city’s mayor.
CHP Sergeant Andrew Barclay said the demonstrators had blocked the roadway, preventing emergency medical crews from passing through and preventing Coast Guard members from leaving the island. Footage showed flash-bangs being deployed.
“Two individuals out of the group refused to move and were arrested,” Barclay said.
Details on the charges were not immediately available.
The Coast Guard did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.
Here's the latest as legal battles over Trump's federal crackdown continue
Legal disputes are unfolding across the country as the Trump administration continues to push a federal deployment of National Guard troops to what the president describes as violent resistance to immigration enforcement in Democratic-led cities.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is warning California and Illinois officials not to interfere with or impede federal immigration enforcement activities, saying it’s a violation of federal law to do so.
Here are the latest developments:
California
- Trump called off plans to “surge” federal law enforcement and immigration resources to San Francisco, citing conversations with “friends” in the area and the city’s mayor.
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the patience displayed by San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie during a call last night with Trump is part of the reason why the plans were dropped.
- Lurie said at a news conference he emphasized the progress his city has been making in recent years as officials try to address crime and fuel economic growth during that call with Trump. “Having the military and militarized immigration enforcement in our city will hinder our recovery,” the mayor said.
- Meanwhile, a panel of three judges with the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals is weighing whether to limit Trump’s ability to continue deploying National Guard troops to the Los Angeles area.
Illinois
- In Chicago, US Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino is accused of throwing at least one tear gas canister at protesters in potential violation of a federal judge’s temporary restraining order restricting federal agents from using aggressive crowd control tactics at anti-ICE protests in the city.
- Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker announced Thursday the creation of the Illinois Accountability Commission, which is charged with creating a public record of federal enforcement abuses.
- Federal agents have been deployed on the streets of Chicago since early September during what the administration has titled “Operation Midway Blitz.”
- The mother of an Illinois woman who became “the face” of that operation after she was killed at age 20 in a drunken-driving hit-and-run collision by a man who was in the country illegally said her daughter wouldn’t have wanted to be associated with it.
- As for where things stand in the courts: US District Court Judge April Perry yesterday ordered an extension of the order blocking the deployment of National Guard troops to Chicago through final judgment. The extension will likely remain in place until there’s a full trial on the issue or the Supreme Court weighs in.
Oregon
- A federal judge in Oregon will hold a hearing Friday to consider whether to dissolve or suspend the temporary restraining order she issued earlier this month, which bars the Trump administration from deploying any National Guard soldiers into Portland.
- US District Judge Karin Immergut will preside over the virtual hearing, scheduled for 10 a.m. local time.
US deputy AG warns California, Illinois officials not to interfere with immigration activities
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is warning California and Illinois lawmakers and state officials not to interfere with or impede federal immigration enforcement activities, saying it’s a violation of federal law to do so.
Blanche said the US Department of Justice “views any arrests of federal agents and officers in the performance of their official duties as both illegal and futile” in a letter on Thursday to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, Rep. Nancy Pelosi – who represents a district in San Francisco – and the state’s Attorney General Rob Bonta.
Blanche later also cautioned Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker in a post on X the letter “applies to you too,” adding: “Federal law. Federal authority. Federal consequences.”
Blanche’s statements come after Pelosi, the former Speaker of the House, said today the immigration raids in San Francisco could result in criminal charges against the agents involved if people’s rights are violated. Meanwhile, Pritzker announced the creation of the Illinois Accountability Commission charged with creating a public record of federal enforcement abuses.
Pritzker said the commission will also capture the impact of the enforcements on families and communities in the state, and recommending actions to “prevent further harm and to pursue justice.”
In Blanche’s letter, he said the California officials have called for “state and local law enforcement officials to ‘arrest’ federal agents and officers for enforcing federal laws enacted by the U.S. Congress, including federal immigration laws,” instead of “supporting and working” with them.
He goes on to urge the officials to “stop threatening law enforcement.”
CNN has reached out to Pritzker, Pelosi, Newsom, Bonta and Jenkins for comment.
Border Patrol chief accused of violating judge’s order after video shows him throwing apparent tear gas canister
United States Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino is accused of throwing at least one tear gas canister at protesters in potential violation of a federal judge’s temporary restraining order restricting federal agents from using aggressive crowd control tactics at Chicago anti-ICE protests, according to a Thursday court filing.
The notice of alleged violation was filed by the nonprofit that represents journalists, alongside unions and individual protesters, that obtained the TRO issued by US District Court Judge Sara Ellis earlier this month.
Bovino, along with the US Department of Homeland Security, is a defendant in the case. CNN has reached out to DHS for comment.
The filing cites a Facebook video post, saying it shows Bovino at a protest in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood Thursday morning.
“Defendant Bovino appears to throw either one or two tear gas canisters over the heads of armed federal agents in front of him and in the direction of a crowd of individuals protesting, including an individual filming the encounter,” the filing states.
The video does not show clearly what happened in the minutes leading up to the incident or if any warnings were given.
Ellis’ sweeping order restricts agents’ crowd control tactics, use of force and actions against journalists and others at protests in Chicago, but it includes exceptions for individuals who pose a threat to law enforcement or others. During a hearing last week, she said she had concerns about whether her order was being followed.
Ellis has ordered Bovino be deposed in the case and a preliminary injunction hearing is set for November 5. On Thursday, the court expanded Bovino’ s deposition time to five hours.
Newsom applauds San Francisco mayor and business leaders for changing Trump's mind
The patience displayed by San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie during a call last night with President Donald Trump is part of the reason why the commander in chief called off plans for a major immigration and anti-crime “surge” in the city, according to California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The president today announced he would not go ahead with the plans, citing conversations with “friends” in the area and the city’s mayor.
Newsom offered his appreciation to several business leaders in San Francisco who spoke with the president, as well.
The governor also claimed in his comments to reporters that the Trump administration would have lost any legal battles that resulted from such a surge.
Trump sees demonstrations in Portland “like an insurrection” despite reports to the contrary
President Donald Trump on Thursday touted a federal court’s ruling clearing the way for his administration to deploy National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, saying demonstrations in the city are “like an insurrection.”
“I looked at – I looked the other night, Saturday night, Portland is like burning to the ground, and these people are saying it’s just friendly stuff,” Trump said during a roundtable with several of his Cabinet members. “The whole place is burning to the ground, so we’ll take care of that one, that’s like an insurrection more than it is anything else. That’s crazy, Portland’s crazy.”
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling this week marks a big win for the administration as it continues to face challenges from other Democrat-led cities over troop deployment – efforts that local and state leaders say are a disproportionate response to protests against Trump’s immigration enforcement crackdown.
Trump has consistently claimed that the city is burning down – but CNN reported earlier this week images out of Portland over the weekend, including shots of an anti-Trump “No Kings” protest that was peacefully attended Saturday by tens of thousands of people — show a city very much intact and not ablaze.
Portland city spokesperson Cody Bowman said the fire department was never even dispatched over the weekend to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building that has been the center of protest activity in recent months.
San Francisco mayor says he described to Trump "a city on the rise." There's still work to do
During a Wednesday night call with President Donald Trump, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie emphasized the progress his city has been making in recent years as officials try to address crime and fuel economic growth, Lurie said in a news conference Thursday.
“I said to him that we are at 70-year lows when it comes to violent crimes,” Lurie said of the call. He also noted that tent encampments, erected by homeless people in the city, are at a record low.
Lurie also touted revitalized retail and a boom in commercial real estate and travel.
“Retail is back. Hotel bookings are up 50%. Convention bookings are also up 50%. This is a city on the rise,” the mayor said.
Though San Francisco is making economic progress, Lurie acknowledged that the city has long battled drug flow on its streets and a drug overdose epidemic. He spoke with US Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday morning, and she indicated a willingness to partner with local law enforcement to combat fentanyl and drug trafficking, he said.
“We have work to do, and we would welcome the continued partnership with FBI, DEA, ATF and US attorneys to get drugs and drug dealers off of our streets,” the mayor said.
Sending military into San Francisco would "hinder our recovery," mayor says
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie insisted Thursday that sending the National Guard into the city and ramping up aggressive immigration enforcement would stymie the work local officials have been doing to improve safety in the city.
Lurie made the comments in a news conference after he and President Donald Trump announced in separate social media posts that Trump decided to call off plans for a surge of federal resources into San Francisco. Trump and Lurie had a call about the issue late Wednesday night, they said.
“Having the military and militarized immigration enforcement in our city will hinder our recovery,” Lurie said. “We appreciate that the president understands that we are the global hub for technology and that when San Francisco is strong, our country is strong.”
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem affirmed in a conversation this morning that a plan for a potential surge in federal resources had been called off, the mayor added.
San Francisco stays prepared for “any scenario” after Trump calls off federal deployment plans, mayor says
San Francisco remains prepared for “any scenario” after President Donald Trump called off plans to send federal agents to the city, said Mayor Daniel Lurie at a Thursday news conference.
“We have a plan in place that can be activated at any moment,” Lurie said. “ … It is my sincere hope that we never have to put that planning into action.”
Oakland is "fully prepared" if federal troops are sent there, mayor says
Authorities in Oakland, California, said Thursday they are prepared if the Trump administration announces a federal deployment to the East Bay city.
“We know that border patrol agents are being stationed on Coast Guard Island, but let me be clear, our city, we are fully prepared,” Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee in a news conference. “Oakland is and will continue to be a welcoming city for our immigrants and our refugees and our laws and values reflect that.”
While plans for a federal deployment in San Francisco are on hold, Oakland leaders said the Trump administration hasn’t ruled out their city.
Oakland police and the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office reassured residents the department does not participate in, assist or enforce immigration matters.
Rep. Lateefah Simon, a Democrat whose district includes Oakland, said federal troops have no business in the city.
Trump says "we will not surge San Francisco" after call with "friends"
President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he’s no longer planning to “surge” resources to San Francisco to address crime in the California city, citing conversations with “friends of mine who live in the area,” and with Mayor Daniel Lurie.
The friends “called last night to ask me not to go forward with the surge,” because “the Mayor, Daniel Lurie, was making substantial progress,” Trump wrote in a post to his Truth Social platform.
“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,” Trump wrote. “I told him, ‘It’s an easier process if we do it, faster, stronger, and safer but, let’s see how you do?’”
Two tech industry CEOs — Jensen Huang of Nvidia and Marc Benioff of Salesforce — were among the “great people” who called Trump to say “the future of San Francisco is great,” the president said.
“They want to give it a ‘shot.’ Therefore, we will not surge San Francisco on Saturday. Stay tuned!” Trump wrote.
Nvidia declined to comment on behalf of Huang. CNN has also reached out to Salesforce for comment on behalf of Benioff.
Trump had long signaled he planned to deploy resources to San Francisco after similar operations in Washington, DC, Memphis, Portland, Oregon, and Chicago.
But in a separate statement Thursday morning, Lurie said Trump had assured him during a Wednesday night call that he “was calling off any plans for a federal deployment in San Francisco.”
Remember: Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff backtracked last week from comments suggesting Trump should send the National Guard to San Francisco.
Trump called off plans for a federal deployment to San Francisco in late night phone call, mayor says
The Trump administration has called off plans for a federal deployment in San Francisco, Mayor Daniel Lurie said today in a statement from his office.
“Late last night, I received a phone call from the President of the United States,” Lurie said in the statement. “In that conversation, the president told me clearly that he was calling off any plans for a federal deployment in San Francisco.”
“Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem reaffirmed that direction in our conversation this morning,” Lurie added. “My team will continue to monitor the situation closely.”
Remember: Reported plans to send federal agents to San Francisco had sparked sharp rebuke from city and state officials. Protesters gathered outside the US Coast Guard base near Alameda County this morning, blocking Customs and Border Protection vehicles from moving.
Man detained after playing Darth Vader's theme music as he followed National Guard troops in DC, lawsuit says
Sam O’Hara says he played “The Imperial March” theme from Star Wars on his phone, and sometimes on a small speaker, as he walked several feet behind National Guard troops deployed in Washington, DC, and filmed it for TikTok, where millions of people saw it.
A lawsuit, filed Thursday by the ACLU-DC on his behalf in DC District court, alleges he was subsequently detained on September 11, violating his constitutional rights. The suit names an Ohio National Guard member, four Metropolitan Police Department officers and the District of Columbia as defendants.
Video Credit: freedc20009/TikTok
The filing alleges the National Guard member threatened to call the police on O’Hara if he didn’t stop playing the John Williams-composed theme song, most often played in the Star Wars films when Darth Vader appears. He continued playing the music and some time later, DC police arrived, detaining O’Hara and handcuffing him, the suit says.
He was handcuffed for about 20 minutes before being released without charges, according to the suit.
CNN has reached out to the Ohio National Guard, the Metropolitan Police Department and the DC Office of the Attorney General for comment.
“The law might have tolerated government conduct of this sort a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away,” the lawsuit says, alluding to the famous opening line of the original 1977 Star Wars film.“But in the here and now, the First Amendment bars government officials from shutting down peaceful protests, and the Fourth Amendment (along with the District’s prohibition on false arrest) bars groundless seizures.”
A spokesperson for the US Department of Defense said the Pentagon doesn’t comment on ongoing litigation of the department or its members.
Flash-bangs used outside Coast Guard base in Alameda County
As protesters gathered outside the US Coast Guard base in Alameda County, California, on Thursday morning, footage showed flash-bangs being deployed as the crowds banged on and blocked Customs and Border Protection vehicles attempting to drive forward.
Video from the scene shows protesters aiding a local pastor who was hit with an unknown substance after the flash-bang went off, according to CNN affiliate KPIX. Bystanders assisted the man in cleaning off his face with water.
“We will turn the other cheek, but I am really disappointed,” Laura, a fellow pastor protesting outside the base, told KPIX. “I support my colleague. He’s just standing up for what’s right.”
San Francisco Bay communities move to keep ICE operations away from local government properties
As San Francisco prepares for a new influx of federal agents in stepped-up immigration enforcement efforts, Bay Area communities are preparing more restrictions on how ICE can operate.
The Board of Supervisors in Santa Clara County, California, on Tuesday unanimously backed a proposal to prohibit federal agents from using publicly owned parking lots and property to stage their operations. It mirrors orders put in place by leaders in Chicago and Cook County, Illinois, earlier this month.
The proposal now moves to county administrators to draft an official ordinance.
Santa Clara is the most populous county in the Bay Area and will be the host of Super Bowl LX in February.
Arenas emphasized the proposal would not interfere with legal actions taken by ICE agents on county property, such as executing a court-ordered warrant or pursuing a fleeing suspect.
San Jose – which is in Santa Clara County – made a similar move, with preliminary approval given by a council committee Wednesday.
“I think we’re all concerned about the activities of ICE, and they may be coming to San Jose sooner than we think, or sooner than we’d hoped,” Vice Mayor Pam Foley said.
Illinois governor creates commission to capture public record of alleged agent misconduct
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker today announced the creation of the Illinois Accountability Commission “to pursue accountability for the people of Illinois,” amid the surge in federal immigration enforcement in his state.
The commission is charged with creating a public record of federal enforcement abuses, capturing the impact of the enforcements on families and communities in Illinois, and recommending actions to “prevent further harm and to pursue justice,” Pritzker said.
“The records they gather will shine more light on the misconduct of Trump’s federal agents,” the governor said.
“We intend to create a detailed record of the truth. And once this all ends, people of good faith will review what this commission has gathered and will demand accountability,” Pritzker added.
DHS says claims of mistreatment of pregnant women in custody “unsubstantiated, and unverifiable”
The Department of Homeland Security is calling claims of mistreatment of pregnant women in ICE custody, as outlined in a letter signed by the ACLU and other advocacy groups, “unsubstantiated, and unverifiable.”
“Another day, another disgusting attempt to smear ICE while our law enforcement targets the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens,” a statement from DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin reads.
DHS says pregnant women in ICE detention are “exceedingly rare,” currently making up 0.133% of all undocumented immigrants in custody.
“Pregnant women receive regular prenatal visits, mental health services, nutritional support, and accommodations aligned with community standards of care,” the DHS statement said.
Mother of “the face of Operation Midway Blitz” says daughter wouldn’t have wanted to be associated with it
The mother of Katie Abraham — an Illinois woman who authorities say was killed at age 20 in a drunken-driving hit-and-run collision by a man who was in the United States illegally — said she is breaking her silence after her daughter was made the face of President Donald Trump’s amped up immigration enforcement push in Chicago.
“Losing a child unlocked a pain I never knew existed. Losing a child to a crime adds to the depths of despair. Having my child’s legacy be associated with a politically charged and controversial operation instead of the positivity and light she contributed to those within her community is simply unbearable,” Abraham’s mom, Denise Lorence, wrote in an op-ed for the Chicago Tribune, headlined “My daughter is the face of Operation Midway Blitz. I am reclaiming her legacy.”
The Department of Homeland Security said in September that launched the enforcement push, which it named “Operation Midway Blitz,” in Abraham’s honor.
“I have not spoken out since it began, but as Katie’s mother, I can no longer stay silent,” Lorence continued. “The Department of Homeland Security said its immigration enforcement operation in Chicago is named in Katie’s honor. But Katie would not have wanted this.”
She said she decided to speak out after realizing the operation’s association with her daughter wasn’t going away.
“She would not have wanted to be associated with a campaign that targets Chicago — a city she not only loved but felt safe in,” Lorence said.
Her daughter wasn’t political, she avoided confrontation and “was the person people wanted to be around,” she said.
“Whether or not you agree with Operation Midway Blitz is not the story I am here to write,” Lorence wrote, but “she did not choose to be thrust into this political spotlight to advance an operation she knew nothing about.”
Lorence acknowledged that Abraham’s father, Joe Abraham, and his wife agreed that Katie’s name could be used for the operation. Joe Abraham previously told CNN the federal government failed “miserably” in protecting his daughter and that state politicians ignored her death, and by extension, “let it happen.”
