Federal agents have begun a new immigration enforcement operation in New Orleans, the Department of Homeland Security announced on Dec. 3, extending the Trump administration’s crackdown on undocumented immigration to another Democrat-led city.
In a statement, the agency said the effort, called Operation Catahoula Crunch, will focus on “criminal illegal aliens roaming free thanks to sanctuary policies.” Officials have not specified how many agents will be deployed to New Orleans or how long the operation is expected to continue.
The administration has rolled out similar initiatives—often over the objections of local and state leaders—in Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and most recently Charlotte, North Carolina.
Records from earlier enforcement waves show that many people detained in such actions did not have criminal histories. Of the more than 600 individuals arrested during a sweep in Chicago, only 16 had prior criminal records, according to Justice Department documents filed in federal court.
The escalation in federal activity comes as New Orleans is seeing reduced crime. City data shows that violent offenses—including homicide, aggravated assault—are down 7% from last year and 32% from 2022, when New Orleans recorded the highest homicide rate in the nation.
Louisiana’s Republican governor, Jeff Landry, a close ally of Trump, has endorsed the federal operation.
“We welcome our federal partners,” he said in a recent Fox News appearance, calling New Orleans a “crime-ridden city.”
New Orleans Mayor-elect Helena Moreno, a Democrat, voiced concern about how similar operations have unfolded elsewhere and introduced a reporting tool to document potentially unlawful conduct by immigration officers.
“My first priority is to keep our community safe. The reports of due process violations and potential abuses in other cities are concerning,” she said in a late November statement. “I want our community to be aware and informed of the protections available under law. We must demand accountability and that peoples’ rights are not violated.”
As word of the impending operation spread, hundreds of protesters have marched in New Orleans in recent days to oppose the federal effort. Immigrant rights groups have prepared for the arrival of agents and urged residents in immigrant neighborhoods to minimize unnecessary time outside.
New Orleans is one of several cities the Department of Justice labels as sanctuary jurisdictions, defined as places with “policies, laws, or regulations that impede enforcement of federal immigration laws.”
For more than ten years, the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office—which oversees all local detention facilities—has declined requests from immigration authorities to hold detainees for pickup unless they face charges such as murder other serious violent crimes.
In February, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill filed a lawsuit against the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office, arguing that its policies run afoul of a 2024 state law requiring law enforcement agencies to cooperate with federal immigration officials.
