Protesters gather as federal agents arrive in San Francisco area

Protesters gathered Thursday outside a U.S. Coast Guard base in the San Francisco Bay Area, where U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents began arriving to support federal efforts to track down immigrants in the country illegally.

About 150 people, many carrying signs saying “No ICE or troops in the Bay,” referring to U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement, gathered shortly after dawn outside the base in Alameda. Police used at least one flash-bang grenade to clear a handful of demonstrators from the entrance as CBP vehicles drove through.

The San Francisco Chronicle, citing an anonymous source with knowledge of the operation, reported Wednesday that more than 100 CBP and other federal agents would arrive this week. San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie and California Gov. Gavin Newsom immediately condemned the move. The two Democrats said the surge is meant to provoke violent protests.

CBP did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment from The Associated Press. A statement provided to media by the Coast Guard said that “through a whole of government approach, we are leveraging our unique authorities and capabilities to detect, deter, and interdict illegal aliens, narco-terrorists, and individuals intent on terrorism or other hostile activity before they reach our border.”

President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he plans to deploy National Guard troops to the city to quell crime, but his administration hasn't offered a timeline for doing so.

Trump has deployed the Guard to Washington, D.C., and Memphis, Tennessee, to help fight what he says is rampant crime. Los Angeles was the first city where Trump deployed the Guard, arguing it was necessary to protect federal buildings and federal agents as protesters fought back against mass immigration arrests.