NEW ORLEANS (TNND) — Federal agents arrived in New Orleans on Wednesday after weeks of the Trump administration teasing an immigration crackdown in the Big Easy.
The point of the Operation Catahoula Crunch is to “target the violent criminal illegal alien that sanctuary politicians have allowed to roam free,” according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Documents originally referred to it as “Swamp Sweep.”
“@POTUS Trump and @Sec_Noem WILL NEVER stop making America safe again,” DHS wrote on social media.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Wednesday that the operation “will remove the worst of the worst from New Orleans, Louisiana, after the city’s politicians have ignored the rule of law.”
“LAW AND ORDER WILL PREVAIL,” she added.
High-profile immigration crackdowns began in January in cities including Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and Charlotte, North Carolina. Most recently, an operation was announced in Minnesota, targeting Somali immigrants.
“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.
The deployment, which aims to arrest 5,000 people, was expected to be led by Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, who has led aggressive operations in other cities, including Chicago and Los Angeles.
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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.