Statement on Federal Deployment in the Bay Area

October 23, 2025

The East Bay Leadership Council (EBLC) strongly opposes the deployment of federal border and military personnel to our region. Stationing more than one hundred U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents at a Coast Guard base in Alameda, without meaningful coordination with local or state leaders, is unjustified and risks undermining the trust and stability that sustain our communities.

This type of action will incite backlash rather than build safety. It deepens division, sows fear, and distracts from the real work of creating secure and thriving communities. Public safety must be achieved through collaboration with local authorities and through solutions that strengthen, not intimidate, our workforce and neighborhoods.

EBLC calls on federal officials to fully explain the purpose of this deployment and to withdraw these forces unless there is a clear, lawful, and locally supported rationale. The East Bay’s future depends on trust, cooperation, and accountability—not fear.

Mark Orcutt
President & CEO
East Bay Leadership Council

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The East Bay Leadership Council is a regional employer-led organization with a nearly 90-year history of advancing policies that strengthen the economy and improve quality of life in Contra Costa and Alameda Counties.