San Francisco Public Press (https://www.sfpublicpress.org/author/sylvie-sturm/)
As the Trump administration cuts tens of thousands of federal jobs under the guise of “efficiency,” veterans say the sweeping layoffs and surreptitious push toward privatization are worsening their lives and eroding essential Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare and support programs.
San Francisco is experiencing a surge in eviction court filings that has taken even the most seasoned eviction defense lawyers by surprise.
In February, 365 eviction lawsuits were filed — up 57% from a year earlier — and March had 303 filings, bringing the total for this year to 929.
At this pace, San Francisco is on track to seeing more than 3,700 eviction lawsuits this year, versus 2,923 cases filed in 2024, according to the Tenant Right to Counsel, which was established in 2018, when San Francisco passed the “No Eviction Without Representation Act,” requiring the city to fund legal representation for residents facing eviction.
In February, the San Francisco Police Department converted a Sixth Street parking lot in South of Market to what it called a triage center — a fenced-off area where police could connect people to social services or put them in a van bound for jail.
According to a city staff report, in the first month of the triage center’s operation, police made 350 arrests, three-quarters of them drug related. Triage personnel connected 275 people to shelter and 408 people to health care.
Advocates for people struggling with homelessness or substance use disorder say the city’s approach is unnecessarily punitive, but some business owners and community members say they approve of what the mayor and Police Department are doing.
San Francisco should brace for a surge in homelessness.
That was the assessment of local housing advocates following a Department of Housing and Urban Development announcement that it would “take steps” to ensure no funding would be used to “support sanctuary policies of states or local governments that actively prevent federal authorities from deporting” undocumented residents.
San Francisco has a long history of providing refuge to people in marginalized communities.
Ever since President Donald Trump’s inauguration this year, thousands of residents and officials across the Bay Area have been showing support for municipal and state policies that protect undocumented immigrants.
Communities from San Mateo to Dublin have held protests each week in response to the Trump administration’s promises of mass deportation and threats to cut federal funding to sanctuary cities.
This week marks three years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the conflict shows no signs of ending. On the eve of this grim anniversary, Russia launched its largest drone attack yet, causing widespread destruction and civilian casualties. Days later, the U.S. voted against a U.N. resolution calling for Russia’s withdrawal. In this episode of “Civic,” we revisit conversations first aired on April 7, 2022 — just six weeks after the invasion began — as San Francisco residents with deep ties to Ukraine were fearing for loved ones and desperately trying to help by sending vital medical supplies and welcoming refugees into the Bay Area.
San Francisco’s top prosecutor, police chief and public defender gathered on the steps outside City Hall’s main entrance in a rare display of unity as they committed to uphold sanctuary laws that protect undocumented immigrants from the Trump administration’s threatened mass deportation. But the agencies diverge on whom to shield from federal action.
Rumors of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention operation alarmed residents of San Francisco’s Mission District earlier this month following a threat by Donald Trump before his inauguration to launch mass deportations of undocumented residents.
However, these murmurs about local ICE raids are baseless, said Milli Atkinson, director of the Immigrant Legal Defense Program of the San Francisco Bar Association.
“It was one individual that was arrested by ICE,” Atkinson said. “They had his name and information. We responded, and they met with an attorney, and they’re going to be represented. It wasn’t a raid or mass arrest.”
Anti-abortion groups have initiated increasingly aggressive activities in San Francisco since the fall of Roe v. Wade, with some ignoring protective zones around clinics and even threatening violence.
In response, community groups, nonprofits and local government have stepped up efforts to ensure access to abortions and reproductive health support in San Francisco — both for people who live in the city and for those who travel here seeking help.
