(NEW ORLEANS, La.) — More than 200 federal agents are expected to begin fanning out across New Orleans on Wednesday after the Department of Homeland Security announced the start of an immigration crackdown dubbed Operation Catahoula Crunch.
Named after the Louisiana state dog, the immigration enforcement operation in New Orleans is the latest stop in the Trump administration’s nationwide effort targeting undocumented migrants with criminal records, according to the DHS.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) commander-at-large Greg Bovino is expected to lead the operation in New Orleans, sources with knowledge of the plans told ABC News.
“We are here arresting criminals who should not be here,” Bovino said on Wednesday in a post on X, announcing the operation. “The state, local and federal law enforcement partners in Louisiana are excellent partners!!”
The actions of the CBP have previously ignited protests and pushback from Democratic leaders in Chicago, Los Angeles and Charlotte, North Carolina. The crackdown has also prompted violent clashes between protesters and federal agents, who have deployed tear gas to quell demonstrations.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, DHS alleged that New Orleans’ sanctuary policies have led to the release of immigrants “who continue committing crimes against innocent Americans.”
“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 DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
McLaughlin said the immigration operation will go after “violent criminals who were released after arrest for home invasions, armed robbery, grand theft auto and rape.”
But some leaders in other cities where immigration sweeps occurred have criticized the tactics of masked federal agents they allege have instilled fear in their communities by snatching up people off the streets for simply being in the country illegally.
“What we are seeing unfold in our community is not public safety; it is a political stunt wrapped in badges, armored vehicles, and military uniforms,” Rep. Troy Carter Sr., D-La., who represents New Orleans, said in a statement on Tuesday. “These are militarized forces who are not trained in our local laws, not trained in community-based de-escalation, and do not know our neighborhoods or our people. That is a recipe for fear, confusion, and dangerous mistakes.”
New Orleans Mayor-elect Helena Moreno, a Democrat who immigrated to the United States from Mexico as a child, issued a statement last month advising immigrants in New Orleans to know their constitutional protections.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican, has welcomed the federal immigration enforcement in New Orleans.
“New Orleans is a place under which we’ve had illegal criminal activity, alien activity,” Landry said in an interview on Fox News last month.
In a social media post on Saturday, Bovino hinted at “next level” immigration enforcement, but didn’t reveal where that would occur.
“Hold on to your hats ladies and gentlemen, immigration enforcement is going next level,” Bovino said in the post. “Illegal aliens, utilize the CBP Home app. to self deport — immediately.”
Bovino has come under fire after video from a protest in October showed him throwing a tear gas canister at demonstrators in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood without giving a verbal warning, a violation of a U.S. district judge’s earlier temporary restraining order limiting the use of force.
U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis admonished Bovino during a court appearance in November, saying he admitted to lying about the rock-throwing incident used to justify the deployment of tear gas against protesters. She then issued a preliminary injunction limiting the use of force during immigration arrests and protests.
The Trump administration appealed Ellis’s injunction. The Department of Justice argued, “This overbroad and unworkable injunction has no basis in law, threatens the safety of federal officers, and violates the separation of powers.” On Nov. 19, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay on the injunction.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the FBI New Orleans Field Office and the Louisiana State Police announced a joint enforcement effort to “deter assaults on federal officers and attempts to obstruct law enforcement actions.”
“We will not tolerate assaults on law enforcement officers in Louisiana and there will be consequences,” Jonathan Tapp, the special agent in charge of the New Orleans Field Office, said in the statement.
Tapp warned that FBI agents and State Police will “investigate and arrest anyone assaulting law enforcement officers, unlawfully impeding federal law enforcement activity, or assisting anyone to commit this criminal activity.”
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