(The Center Square) – New Orleans and state officials are preparing for the expected arrival of U.S. Border Patrol agents as the Trump administration expands its immigration crackdown in the South, but information remains sparse.
No public official at the state or federal level has confirmed reports that hundreds of agents are headed to the New Orleans area in early December.
The office of Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican who supports Trump’s mass deportation agenda, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Attorney General Liz Murrill’s office referred The Center Square to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, who said they “do not discuss current or future operations.”
“Operation Swamp Sweep” could target the service industry that drives the city’s economy and employs immigrants, and possibly the northwest suburb of Kenner, which has a large Hispanic population.
It has already highlighted the political divide between Republicans who lead the state and Democrats who lead New Orleans.
Murrill, a Republican, warned Monday that Louisiana law forbids obstructing federal immigration officers, and penalties “may include imprisonment with hard labor and thousands of dollars in fines,” according to her social media post on X.
New Orleans Mayor-elect Helena Moreno, a Democrat and Mexican-American immigrant, said in a statement that “reports of due process violations and potential abuses in other cities are concerning.”
Border Patrol’s aggressive operations in Los Angeles and Chicago have circulated on social media, and many people without criminal histories were taken into custody.
New Orleans is expected to be the next city in the agency’s southern surge, which started in Charlotte, North Carolina in mid-November. The operation had reportedly resulted in the arrests of 370 people as of last week, with at least 44 having criminal records. A Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman said Thursday the operation there “isn’t ending anytime soon.”
At the same time, Moreno circulated a “Know Your Rights” guide that said “all persons in the United States have constitutional protections, including the right to remain silent when questioned or arrested by immigration officers.”
The guidance urges residents not to run, argue or resist if approached by officers, to keep their hands visible and, in the case of a traffic stop, to ask whether the officer is local police, Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Customs and Border Protection.
“We must demand accountability and that peoples’ rights are not violated,” Morena said in a statement posted on Instagram, encouraging the legal community to assist.
Border Patrol has increased its presence in the New Orleans area since Trump took office in January. Federal court records in Louisiana’s Eastern District show cases spanning months, with defendants held in detention while they wait for resolution. Some have already been tried or sentenced; others are waiting for their day in court. In each case, prosecutors seek to remove the defendant from the U.S.
Of the 30 cases reviewed by The Center Square, the charges range from firearm possession or stolen weapons to lower-level traffic and alcohol offenses. Others are accused of returning to the U.S. after being deported or of using false Social Security numbers to work.
Between 130,000 and 140,000 Hispanic residents live in the New Orleans area, and New Orleans City Councilwoman Lesli Harris, a Democrat, urged federal authorities to “respect the civil nature” of immigration law.
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New Orleans is “strongest when every resident feels safe,” she said in a statement, and stressed that immigration violations are civil, not criminal, matters.
Immigrants in the city are “workers, business owners, parents, students, caregivers, and neighbors,” Harris said, and should not be subjected to fear or intimidation for seeking “safety, opportunity, or a better life.”