Federal agents launch immigration crackdown in New Orleans

There are more than 200 Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials working on the New Orleans operation, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The objective is to make as many arrests as possible over at least 60 days.

Homeland Security Department Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that the New Orleans operation is targeting immigrants who were released after arrests for crimes such as home invasion, armed robbery and rape.

Immigration officials have blanketed big cities and small towns across the nation since January while carrying out Republican President Donald Trump ’s mass deportation efforts. Another operation is expected soon in Minnesota, targeting Somali immigrants. The enforcement tactics have been met with protests and lawsuits.

The operation in Louisiana is called “Catahoula Crunch,” continuing Homeland Security’s pattern of assigning region-specific names to the crackdowns. The Catahoula leopard dog is Louisiana’s official state dog. Planning documents obtained by the AP referred to the Louisiana operation as “Swamp Sweep.”

Federal operations begin at big box stores

Fear and uncertainty have weighed heavy on the immigrant community in New Orleans — a one-of-a-kind American city known as the birthplace of jazz and for its Mardi Gras celebrations and rich blend of French, Spanish, African and Native American cultures.

A witness saw federal agents chase down and arrest people in the parking lot of a Lowe's store in New Orleans on Wednesday morning.

“They tried to run across the street but they caught them,” said Jody Styles.

A convoy of marked and unmarked vehicles slowly drove past gas stations and a Walmart in Kenner, a suburb with the highest concentration of Hispanic residents of any city in the state.

Agents pulled over and spoke with a man mowing a lawn before they continued along. In another neighborhood, around a dozen agents surrounded a home where a man stood on the roof, waiting for officers to leave. Residents and advocates stood nearby, filming the encounter.

Border Patrol and immigration officials did not immediately respond to messages seeking how many arrests were made on the first day.

The immigrant community prepares

Some business owners in heavily Hispanic areas say they will remain closed until the operation is over. Other storefronts have signs barring federal immigration agents from entering.

Posted on the door of Los Hondureños, a restaurant in Kenner, was a handwritten note saying it was closed until further notice. It ended: “Thank you, The Hondurans.”

Twenty years ago, New Orleans relied on thousands of Latino workers who helped rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. But it has not escaped the escalating tensions over immigration.

Earlier this week, dozens of people took to the streets, despite rain and chilly temperatures, to protest the coming crackdown. On Wednesday, the City Council launched an online portal where residents can report alleged abuse by federal officers.

Sanctuary policies under fire

Louisiana Republican Gov. Jeff Landry has singled out crimes in which the suspect’s immigration status is in question, such as the killing of a French Quarter tour guide by a group that included a Honduran man who entered the country illegally.

Attorney General Pam Bondi has accused New Orleans of undermining federal immigration enforcement. The Department of Justice includes New Orleans in a list of 18 cities it considers to be providing sanctuary to immigrants without legal status.

New Orleans officials deny the city’s policies thwart immigration enforcement. City police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick has said she considers it to be a civil matter outside her jurisdiction.

‘It's going to run until we get them all off the street'

Louisiana has been preparing for weeks for the crackdown. The governor, a close Trump ally who has moved to align state policy with the White House’s enforcement agenda, said Wednesday that the operation will target the “worst of the worst, criminal illegal aliens that have broken the law.”

“It started today and it’s going to run until we get them all off the street,” Landry said during an interview on the Walton & Johnson radio show.

In addition to the deployment of federal agents, Landry said he expects National Guard members to arrive in New Orleans before Christmas to join the efforts to combat crime.

The immigration operation's planning documents showed border agents intended to launch a monthslong crackdown in southeast Louisiana and into Mississippi.

The deployment, which aims to arrest 5,000 people, was expected to be led by the Border Patrol, whose agents have drawn scrutiny for aggressive tactics in other cities, including Chicago and Los Angeles.

A Louisiana immigrant rights group asked a judge Wednesday to block a new state law that gives prosecutors wider latitude to charge people accused of delaying, hindering or interfering with a federal immigration enforcement.

New Orleans-based nonprofit Immigration Services and Legal Advocacy said the law has had a chilling effect on their freedom of speech. The group said it was worried about running afoul of the law so it halted workshops explaining legal rights during an immigration-related arrest and the rights for bystanders to film or record.

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Cline reported from Baton Rouge. Associated Press journalists Elliot Spagat in San Diego; John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; and Stephen Smith in Kenner, Louisiana, contributed.

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Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.