President Trump will not deploy federal agents to San Francisco, the president and the city’s mayor announced on Thursday, marking a surprising reversal as Trump pressures Democratic-led cities to strengthen enforcement against crime and illegal immigration.

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, a Democrat, said Trump called him Wednesday night to cancel the planned deployment. Lurie added that the city will continue partnering with federal agencies to combat drug crime, but “militarised immigration enforcement” would not help.

“We appreciate that the president understands that we are the global hub for technology, and when San Francisco is strong, our country is strong,” Lurie said.

Trump confirmed the decision on Truth Social, noting the federal government had been preparing a surge but would cancel it.

“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 said.

“The people of San Francisco have come together on fighting Crime, especially since we began to take charge of that very nasty subject.”

Trump also cited calls from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff “saying that the future of San Francisco is great.”

Despite the stand-down, a small number of Border Patrol vehicles arrived at a Coast Guard base in the Bay Area Thursday morning, facing several hundred protesters. Demonstrators held signs reading “Stop the Kidnappings” and “Protect Our Neighbours,” and authorities used less-lethal rounds to disperse the crowd after one person was injured by a projectile and another had a foot run over.

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee said a federal deployment would divide and intimidate.

“We will not allow outsiders to create chaos or exploit our city,” Lee said.

Trump has highlighted what he views as rampant crime in San Francisco and aims to deport record numbers of immigrants in the U.S. illegally.

“We’re going to San Francisco and we’ll make it great,” Trump told reporters on Sunday.