United States Federal immigration agents initiated operations in New Orleans and Minneapolis on Wednesday, just one day after President Donald Trump said he would send National Guard troops to New Orleans and criticised Somali immigrants in Minneapolis.
The actions mark the latest escalation in the administration’s nationwide crackdown on undocumented immigrants in Democrat-led cities.
The Department of Homeland Security said the New Orleans operation was designed to arrest immigrants living in the country illegally, focusing on individuals with criminal records who had been released from local custody under policies that restrict cooperation with federal authorities.
Federal officials said the operation reflects the administration’s push to reverse local limitations on immigration enforcement.
“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,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said.
“It is asinine that these monsters were released back onto New Orleans streets to COMMIT MORE CRIMES and create more victims. Catahoula Crunch targets include violent criminals who were released after arrest for home invasion, armed robbery, grand theft auto, and rape.
"Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, we are restoring law and order for the American people.”
Such operations have been ordered across major Democratic-led cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C., as the administration seeks to drive deportations to record levels.
Community groups and local officials in cities affected by the enforcement push have said that immigration agents have detained people with no criminal history and have employed aggressive tactics that put residents at risk.
The operations come amid an ongoing dispute over the role of local law enforcement in assisting federal immigration authorities.
In November, a federal judge ended a 2013 consent decree that had restricted the New Orleans Police Department’s ability to assist federal immigration enforcement.
Nonetheless, Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick reiterated that the city would not enforce federal immigration law.
The U.S. Department of Justice designated New Orleans a “sanctuary city” in a list released in August.
Last month, a U.S. official told Reuters that Gregory Bovino, a senior Border Patrol official who has overseen Trump’s immigration crackdowns in Los Angeles, Chicago and Charlotte, was preparing to direct operations in New Orleans.
