The Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday formally announced a new immigration enforcement crackdown in New Orleans, the latest city led by Democrats to see a surge in Border Patrol agents tasked with carrying out President Trump’s mass deportation campaign.
DHS said it dubbed the operation “Catahoula Crunch,” confirming plans reported by CBS News in mid-November. At the time, CBS News reported that Border Patrol was planning to dispatch roughly 200 agents to New Orleans, to oversee operations there targeting people suspected of being in the U.S. illegally. Internal agency documents showed officials requested armored vehicles for the operation.
In a statement Wednesday, DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said the administration targeted New Orleans because of local policies that limit cooperation between local law enforcement officials and federal immigration authorities.Â
“Catahoula Crunch targets include violent criminals who were released after arrest for home invasion, armed robbery, grand theft auto, and rape,” McLaughlin added. “Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, we are restoring law and order for the American people.”
Catahoulas are the official state dogs of Louisiana.
Two U.S. officials told CBS News that DHS has asked the Department of Defense for permission to use Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans as a staging area for immigration operations.
Coinciding with the DHS announcement, the FBI’s field office in New Orleans said it was partnering with the Louisiana State Police to protect the federal immigration agents deployed to the area and to curtail “attempts to obstruct law enforcement actions.”
Earlier this week, Mr. Trump said he was planning to deploy National Guard troops to New Orleans for a separate anti-crime operation “in a couple of weeks,” though the administration has not announced an exact date. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican, has welcomed the plan to dispatch National Guard members, saying the deployment is needed to curb violent crime.
The Border Patrol crackdown in New Orleans is the most recent immigration enforcement operation launched by the second Trump administration in a Democratic-controlled city. The administration has deployed hundreds of Border Patrol agents to cities far away from a U.S. border, including Los Angeles, Chicago and Charlotte, North Carolina.
Border Patrol’s operations, led by controversial commander Gregory Bovino, have been met with harsh criticism from some local residents and elected officials, who have accused Bovino and his agents of inflaming tensions through aggressive arrests and heavy handed tactics against protesters and other civilians. A federal judge in the Chicago area ruled that Border Patrol’s use of force had been excessive.
But Bovino has also been praised by supporters as a no-nonsense enforcer of Mr. Trump’s mass deportation campaign. He has defended his agents’ actions, including their use of force against protesters, as justified given violent acts by some individuals.
Who Border Patrol has been arresting in these operations has also garnered controversy. In Los Angeles, Chicago and Charlotte, Border Patrol agents have been depicted on video smashing car windows and arresting day laborers and other workers during “roving patrols” at Home Depot parking lots and other locations.
While Bovino and other Trump administration officials have said Border Patrol is primarily targeting immigrants in the U.S. illegally who also have committed serious crimes, CBS News reported last month that out of roughly 270 arrests in the Charlotte area, fewer than 90 detainees — roughly one third — were classified as criminals.
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