Federal agents launch immigration crackdown in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Federal agents began hitting the streets of New Orleans on Wednesday in the Trump administration’s latest immigration crackdown across the U.S., looking to round up immigrants accused of violent crimes, a Homeland Security official said.

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

Immigration officials have blanketed big cities and small towns across the nation since January while carrying out Republican President Donald Trump ’s aggressive mass deportation efforts.

Federal agents have launched high-profile immigration crackdowns in cities including Chicago and Charlotte, North Carolina. Another operation is expected in the coming days in Minnesota, targeting Somali immigrants. The enforcement tactics have been met with protests and lawsuits.

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.

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

The immigrant community prepares

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 New Orleans home improvement store Wednesday morning. “They tried to run across the street but they caught them,” said Jody Styles, who was at a gas station near the Lowe’s when authorities converged.

Some businesses in heavily-Hispanic areas have shuttered, saying they will remain closed until the operation is over. Others businesses have signs on their doors barring federal immigration agents from entering.

Posted on the door of Los Hondureños, a restaurant in nearby Kenner, was a handwritten note saying it was closing 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 imminent crackdown. On Tuesday, more than 200 people filled a local church for a training on their legal rights and how to safely record federal immigration agents’ activity, including anticipated arrests.

Some immigration lawyers say they have been inundated with calls from people trying to prepare for the federal crackdown.

As the operation began, residents took to social media, posting in neighborhood groups about the crackdown, including photos and addresses of possible sightings. Some desperately tried to decipher what information was accurate.

Sanctuary policies under fire

Louisiana Gov. 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.

The Trump administration also has taken aim at the city’s immigration policies.

“Sanctuary policies endanger American communities by releasing illegal criminal aliens and forcing DHS law enforcement to risk their lives to remove criminal illegal aliens that should have never been put back on the streets,” McLaughlin said.

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 federal immigration enforcement. City police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick has said she considers immigration enforcement 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 an immigration 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 crackdown 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 immigration 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.

Louisiana State Police troopers and local FBI agents will work together to protect federal officers and stop attempts to block law enforcement actions during the crackdown, both agencies announced.

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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.