On December 3, DHS announced the start of a major campaign in New Orleans, Louisiana, aimed at locating and deporting undocumented immigrants. Secretary Kristi Noem said federal agents are already in the city to remove “the worst of the bad actors.”
Noem described New Orleans as a “sanctuary city” for illegal immigrants, accusing local politicians of ignoring the law and affirming that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will take aggressive action.
Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary of DHS, said the targets of this operation are foreign nationals residing illegally who are wanted for crimes such as home invasion, armed robbery, auto theft, and sexual assault.
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Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, a Republican, voiced his support for the effort during a local radio broadcast. One day earlier, President Donald Trump said he would soon deploy the National Guard to New Orleans at the governor’s request. The city has been home to many Latin American immigrants since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when a large influx of migrant workers arrived to help rebuild. Today, this group makes up more than 20% of the population in Jefferson Parish.
New Orleans’ newly elected mayor, Helena Moreno, a Democrat, expressed deep concern over DHS’s new operation. While supporting efforts to remove violent offenders, she warned that law enforcement might intentionally target people of color and risk violating due-process protections. She also criticized the lack of transparency in immigration raids, saying masked agents make identification difficult and create fear in the community.
City council member Lesli Harris told CNN that the operation has created extreme panic, affecting even legal residents, mothers, and high school students. According to a November report from the Cato Institute, only 5% of immigrants arrested in the past two months had violent criminal records, while 73% had no criminal history at all.
Abby, the owner of a New Orleans restaurant, has set up temporary beds at her workplace so family members can sleep there to avoid being detained by federal agents on the road. Her family came from Mexico 20 years ago and still lacks legal status. She fears being separated from her 10-year-old U.S.-born son.
“Not all of us are criminals. We are hardworking people,” Abby said. Rachel Taber, a volunteer with Union Migrante, an immigrant-rights group, said business activity in the city has “basically frozen” since the raids began. Many workers and students are afraid to leave their homes for fear of being detained.
“People are being forced to choose between their jobs and their families,” Taber said.
Union Migrante has published several videos showing border agents questioning and arresting laborers at building-supply stores in New Orleans. Taber recorded at least ten arrests on the first day of the operation.
Despite public concern, Gregory Bovino, the U.S. Border Patrol official leading the operation in New Orleans—who previously oversaw crackdowns in Los Angeles and Chicago—insisted that agents are only “arresting criminals who should not be here,” and praised the cooperation of Louisiana law-enforcement agencies.