President Donald Trump is considering sending troops into San Francisco as part of his ongoing assault on immigrant communities and people of color in Democratic-voting areas. His justification for invading American cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, Portland, and Washington, D.C. has always been the same: the false claim that crime is out of control. Now, he’s set his sights on our city, calling San Francisco a “mess.”
But San Francisco is no such thing. In reality, the city is experiencing record-low crime. Violent crime rates have dropped by 30% and property crime rates have fallen by 40% since 2015 — a time Trump claims was far safer.
If Trump were genuinely motivated by public safety, he wouldn’t be targeting San Francisco. Many Republican-voting areas, including Lassen, Kern, Shasta, and Lake counties, have higher rates of violence and drug-related deaths. The average San Franciscan is only half as likely to be murdered than in the state’s biggest Republican-voting county, Kern, or to die from an overdose than someone in the state’s most conservative county, Lassen. Eight of the 10 counties with the highest murder rates are Republican-voting, all of which suffer worse rates than San Francisco.
This potential federal incursion isn’t about crime prevention — it’s about control. It’s a dangerous, politically motivated use of military force designed to intimidate and destabilize.
The Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJCJ) stands firmly with our San Francisco neighbors in rejecting this campaign of fear. For 40 years, we’ve worked to make our city safer through direct services, community education, and policy reform. We will continue to serve and safeguard San Francisco — no matter the threats that come our way.
