Khaberni - U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Thursday a postponement in sending federal troops to San Francisco, after repeatedly affirming his intention to send forces to the city he claims is experiencing a rise in crime rates.
The President said he was prepared to issue an order to deploy forces this week, but decided to pull back after speaking to "friends living in the area" and Mayor Daniel Lorie.
He added via his social network Truth Social that the Democratic mayor "kindly asked me to give him a chance to see if he could address the situation."
Trump added, "I told him that I think he's making a mistake because we could do it much faster and eliminate the criminals that the law does not allow to be eliminated by it."
He continued, "Therefore, we will not intervene in San Francisco this Saturday. Stay tuned!"
However, the president did not rule out the possibility of intensifying campaigns by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, or deploying the National Guard in the future, as he has done in other Democratic cities like Los Angeles and Washington.
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lorie warned this week that masked ICE officers are using tactics designed to provoke disturbances, which are later used as a pretext to send the National Guard.
He said on Thursday that he convinced Trump to back down from sending federal forces to the city during a phone call, after he confirmed to him that San Francisco was on the road to recovery.
The mayor added, "The president made it clear to me that he is canceling any plans to deploy federal forces in San Francisco."
For years, Republicans have portrayed San Francisco as a city plagued by rising crime, an increasing number of homeless people, and street drug issues.
But the truth is more complex, unlike many U.S. cities struggling with the same problems in their distant suburbs, in San Francisco, the homeless are concentrated downtown close to the business district and tourist attractions.
Despite the prominence of homelessness, crime rates in the city are declining.
Figures released by the San Francisco Police Department and the California Department of Justice show that the number of homicides has reached its lowest level in seven decades, while robbery crimes have reached their lowest level in 40 years.
