U.S. immigration authorities have launched a serious enforcement operation in New Orleans, generally known as “Catahoula Crunch,” after the Division of Homeland Safety mentioned “criminal illegal aliens are roaming free” as a result of native sanctuary insurance policies forestall the honoring of ICE detainer requests.
DHS is deploying roughly 250 Border Patrol brokers with an inside objective of arresting about 5,000 individuals throughout Louisiana and Mississippi.
The operation particularly targets offenders who have been launched from native custody fairly than transferred to federal brokers because of New Orleans’ restrictions on cooperation with immigration enforcement.
The Orleans Parish jail has lengthy operated underneath a consent-decree coverage that barred jailers from honoring ICE detainer requests generally, which means people suspected of immigration violations have been launched on the finish of their native custody fairly than transferred to federal authorities.
The coverage was sweeping: until a suspect confronted fees for crimes corresponding to homicide, rape, or kidnapping, the jail wouldn’t maintain them previous launch time, notify ICE of their launch, or share data for immigration enforcement.
As not too long ago as 2025, the jail’s sanctuary-style coverage remained a serious level of battle, with the Louisiana Legal professional Normal’s Workplace shifting to dissolve the consent decree and restore cooperation with ICE.
New Orleans police management have publicly said that town will not enforce federal immigration legislation, which means native officers won’t take part in immigration arrests.
State Legal professional Normal Liz Murrill and Governor Jeff Landry strongly assist the operation, whereas New Orleans Councilmembers Helena Moreno and JP Morrell have pointed to previous abuses by federal brokers in different cities.
Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick mentioned the NOPD will help federal brokers solely when public security requires it however won’t participate in immigration arrests. Some native departments, together with the Kenner Police, already cooperate with federal enforcement.
In early November, a federal choose allowed Louisiana to proceed with its challenge to the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Workplace’s long-standing “sanctuary” jail coverage, which bars deputies from honoring ICE detainer requests that may maintain noncitizens as much as 48 hours previous their launch dates.
The coverage, created in 2013 after two building staff have been illegally jailed for months on detainers following minor arrests, blocks the jail from investigating immigration standing or holding individuals for ICE with out a court docket order, besides in a restricted variety of critical violent-crime circumstances.
Murrill argues the coverage now violates a 2024 state legislation requiring full cooperation with federal immigration authorities and is looking for to dissolve the settlement.
The choose dominated the state can intervene as a result of Sheriff Susan Hutson has not up to date the coverage regardless of the brand new legislation.
Landry and different Republicans have lengthy opposed sanctuary-style guidelines in New Orleans, and comparable limits within the New Orleans Police Division could also be revisited because the division prepares to exit its federal consent decree.
Rights teams and a few native officers are indignant as a result of they declare ICE is detaining people with no legal document. That is technically true within the slim sense that, throughout a raid, everybody current could also be briefly detained till their identification and citizenship are confirmed, after which they’re launched.
Nonetheless, media shops and left-leaning critics proceed accusing ICE of detaining or arresting individuals “with out a legal document,” whereas ignoring the truth that in sanctuary jurisdictions unlawful aliens who commit crimes are sometimes launched with out bail and advised to return for his or her trial.
In the event that they fail to seem, there isn’t any trial, no conviction, and due to this fact no criminal record.
Moreover, if somebody is within the nation illegally or already has a ultimate order of deportation, ICE is totally empowered underneath federal legislation to arrest and take away them, and no prior legal document is required.
Critics additionally complain about “aggressive ways,” “automobile chases,” and damaged home windows. In actuality, power is used solely when detainees refuse to conform or assault the brokers.
Damaged home windows happen when ICE should forcibly extract somebody who locks themselves in a car and refuses to supply identification or obey lawful orders. And if somebody makes an attempt to flee in a automobile, ICE will pursue them.
Rights teams have additionally cited arrests at building websites and home-improvement shops, and be aware that some immigrants are sleeping at work to keep away from being stopped.
However there may be nothing illegal about ICE making arrests in public locations, and dealing illegally is itself grounds for arrest and deportation underneath U.S. immigration legislation.
The Latino inhabitants now makes up about 20 p.c of Jefferson Parish, and whereas activists declare they’re all frightened, those that are within the nation legally don’t have anything to worry.
Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino confirmed he’s overseeing the operation and mentioned brokers are arresting criminals who “shouldn’t be right here.”
This contains individuals within the nation illegally, these working illegally, and people already underneath orders of deportation; none of those classes require prior legal convictions for ICE to take motion.
