Federal agents descended on New Orleans on Wednesday, making Louisiana’s most populous city the latest front in the Trump administration’s sweeping crackdown on immigrant communities. Masked agents patrolled a heavily Latino suburb in marked and unmarked vehicles, and a resident told the Associated Press he watched agents arresting men outside a home improvement store in New Orleans – a familiar scene that has played out in several major cities in recent months.
Gregory Bovino, the border patrol chief and frequent Fox News guest who has become the face of the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts, was filmed leading a group of masked agents through the historic French quarter. One woman heckled the agents as they marched along Poydras Street, shouting “we hate you” from her car, and “fucking losers”.
Tricia McLaughlin, homeland security department assistant secretary, said in a statement that the aim of “Operation Catahoula Crunch” was to capture immigrants who were released after their arrests for crimes including home invasion, armed robbery, grand theft auto and rape. “It is asinine that these monsters were released back onto New Orleans streets to COMMIT MORE CRIMES and create more victims,” she said.
It is unclear how long the crackdown would last – one report suggested it could continue into January – but roughly 250 agents are reportedly targeting 5,000 arrests. The Democrat-led city has been bracing for weeks for the arrival of federal agents, with rumours swirling of a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) crackdown led by border patrol initially referred to as “Swamp Sweep”.
Community organisers have been urging residents to stay inside as much as possible and educating the public about what to do if confronted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and how to legally film them. Some businesses have told their workers to stay home or have reported workers staying home out of fear. Some have signs posted on their doors telling ICE they are not welcome, while others are handing out whistles to members of the public.
The city’s mayor-elect, Helena Moreno, told CNN that people were “incredibly fearful” of what was coming and that she was very concerned about racial profiling. “What they’re seeing on TV and reports … is not that border patrol is going after the most violent criminals,” she said. “What they’re seeing is what appears to be racial profiling of brown people and then going after these individuals and treating them like they are these significantly violent offenders.”
