Gregory Bovino, border patrol chief and face of Trump\u2019s mass deportation efforts, seen patrolling French Quarter<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Federal agents descended on New Orleans on Wednesday, making Louisiana\u2019s most populous city the latest front in the Trump administration<\/a>\u2019s sweeping crackdown on immigrant communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Masked agents patrolled a heavily Latino suburb in marked and unmarked vehicles, and a resident told the Associated Press he watched agents arresting men outside a home improvement store in New Orleans<\/a> \u2013 a familiar scene that has played out in several major cities in recent months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gregory Bovino, the border patrol chief and frequent Fox News guest who has become the face of the Trump administration\u2019s mass deportation efforts, was filmed<\/a> leading a group of masked agents through the historic French quarter. One woman heckled the agents as they marched along Poydras Street, shouting<\/a> \u201cwe hate you\u201d from her car, and \u201cfucking losers\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tricia McLaughlin, homeland security department assistant secretary, said in a statement that the aim of \u201cOperation Catahoula Crunch\u201d was to capture immigrants who were released after their arrests for crimes including home invasion, armed robbery, grand theft auto and rape. \u201cIt is asinine that these monsters were released back onto New Orleans streets to COMMIT MORE CRIMES and create more victims,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is unclear how long the crackdown would last \u2013 one report suggested<\/a> it could continue into January \u2013 but roughly 250 agents are reportedly targeting 5,000 arrests. The Democrat-led city has been bracing for weeks for the arrival of federal agents, with rumors swirling of a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) crackdown led by border patrol initially referred to as \u201cSwamp Sweep\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Border patrol agents began making arrests on Wednesday, including in the parking lots of Lowe\u2019s hardware stores on Elysian Fields and in Metairie, as well as at Home Depot locations in LaPlace, about 30 minutes outside of New Orleans, and Gretna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Community organizers have been urging residents to stay inside as much as possible and educating the public about what to do if confronted by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and how to legally film them. Some businesses have told their workers to stay home or have reported workers staying home out of fear<\/a>. Some have signs posted on their doors telling ICE they are not welcome, while others are handing out whistles to members of the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some businesses such as restaurants and food truck vendors have been closed since 1 December, several of which are located in the suburb of Kenner, home to Louisiana\u2019s largest Hispanic population. Local law enforcement agencies in Kenner and Gretna have been assisting in immigration efforts, with four people detained<\/a> last week. In that arrest, agents demanded a 25ft buffer from someone filming their actions, citing a blocked law<\/a> that was ruled unconstitutional by a judge this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Taqueria Guerrero in the Mid-City neighborhood said on social media<\/a> on Monday that it had made the \u201cpainful\u201d decision to close for the foreseeable future. \u201cThe safety, dignity, and peace of mind of our staff and our community mean more to us than anything,\u201d the post reads. \u201cWe refuse to operate in a way that puts anyone at risk or adds to the fear that so many are already feeling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThank you for standing with us. Thank you for standing with each other,\u201d the post told patrons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The city\u2019s mayor-elect, Helena Moreno, told CNN that people were \u201cincredibly fearful\u201d of what was coming and that she was very concerned about racial profiling. \u201cWhat they\u2019re seeing on TV and reports \u2026 is not that border patrol is going after the most violent criminals,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat they\u2019re seeing is what appears to be racial profiling of brown people and then going after these individuals and treating them like they are these significantly violent offenders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Moreno, who is Mexican-American, went on: \u201cI know that I don\u2019t look Latina, but my father very much does. And my father speaks with an accent, so \u2026 that was very personal to me.\u201d She has previously expressed concerns about due process, and has for the last few weeks been urging residents to understand their rights<\/a> and calling on legal experts to volunteer their services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Braving the rain and cold on Tuesday night, protesters were out marching in the streets of downtown New Orleans against the impending federal arrival, chanting: \u201cNo ICE, no fear \u2013 immigrants are welcome here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Previous federal operations in Los Angeles, Chicago and Charlotte were led by the border patrol and Gregory Bovino, and have been criticized for using extreme force against protesters and mostly sweeping up people with no criminal records. In those cities agents flooded work sites and parking lots, for example at Home Depots, looking for undocumented migrants, and sometimes violently detained US citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During \u201cOperation Midway Blitz\u201d in Chicago, agents\u2019 deployed teargas and pepper balls at protesters and journalists<\/a> in targeted attacks, and videos of ICE agents throwing protesters to the ground went viral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the Trump administration\u2019s repeated insistence that it was pursuing \u201cthe worst of the worst\u201d among people lacking legal status in these crackdowns, most of the people detained in those past operations have not had criminal histories. In \u201cOperation Charlotte\u2019s Web\u201d in Charlotte, North Carolina, fewer than 12% of those arrested<\/a> were classified as criminals. In Chicago, more than 97% of immigrants detained in \u201cMidway Blitz\u201d had no criminal conviction<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Guardian has also previously reported that immigrants with no criminal record<\/a> are now the largest group<\/a> in US immigration detention, according to government data. Research has also consistently shown that immigrants \u2013 including undocumented immigrants \u2013 are less likely to commit crimes<\/a> than people born in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And despite violent crime in New Orleans, including homicide, plummeting to record lows, Louisiana\u2019s Republican governor, Jeff Landry \u2013 a staunch Trump ally \u2013 has welcomed the deployment of federal law enforcement in the city \u201cwith open arms\u201d. \u201cThis is going to run until we get them all off the street,\u201d he said today, referring to people with criminal records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last month a federal judge terminated a 2013 consent decree that had limited the ability of the New Orleans police department to assist federal immigration enforcement. Still, the NOPD superintendent, Anne Kirkpatrick, said in late November that the city would not enforce federal immigration law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the FBI New Orleans field office and Louisiana state police announced a joint effort<\/a> on Wednesday \u201cto deter assaults on federal officers and attempts to obstruct law enforcement actions\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to the deployment of federal immigration agents, Landry said he expected national guard members to arrive in New Orleans before Christmas to join the efforts to combat crime. Trump told a cabinet meeting on Tuesday that the national guard would be deployed to the city \u201cin a few weeks\u201d without providing further details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n