(AP Photo / Gerald Herbert)
Key Takeaways:
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Federal agents launched “Catahoula Crunch,” targeting illegal immigrants accused of violent crimes.
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New Orleans faces protests and business closures as enforcement intensifies.
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Louisiana officials say the crackdown targets “worst of the worst” criminal offenders.
New Orleans saw something very different from Mardi Gras this week: federal agents hitting the streets in broad daylight, rounding up illegal immigrants accused of violent crimes. And predictably, the activist class immediately claimed this was a humanitarian crisis rather than what it really is — a long-overdue cleanup of people who should’ve never been released in the first place. When you’re talking about suspects involved in home invasions, robberies, and rape, it’s not “harsh enforcement.” It’s common sense.
As usual, the sanctuary-city crowd is wringing its hands while small businesses shut their doors and lawyers’ phones melt from incoming calls. Meanwhile, Gov. Jeff Landry and the Trump administration are making it clear: the days of ignoring serious criminal activity because someone claims sanctuary status are over. The operation even has a name — “Catahoula Crunch” — and a very clear goal: get violent offenders off the streets. Frankly, it’s hard to argue with that.
From Western Journal:
Federal agents began hitting the streets of New Orleans on Wednesday in the Trump administration’s latest immigration crackdown across the U.S., looking to round up immigrants accused of violent crimes, a Homeland Security official said.
The operation is targeting immigrants who were released after arrests for crimes such as home invasion, armed robbery, and rape, Homeland Security Department Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
Immigration officials have blanketed big cities and small towns across the nation since January while carrying out Republican President Donald Trump ’s mass deportation efforts.
Federal agents have launched high-profile immigration crackdowns in cities including Chicago and Charlotte. Another operation is expected in the coming days in Minnesota targeting Somali immigrants. The enforcement tactics have been met with protests and lawsuits.
There are more than 200 Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials working on the New Orleans operation, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The objective is to make as many arrests as possible over at least 60 days.
The operation is being called “Catahoula Crunch,” continuing Homeland Security’s pattern of assigning region-specific names to the crackdowns. The Catahoula leopard dog is Louisiana’s official state dog. Planning documents obtained by the Associated Press referred to the Louisiana operation as “Swamp Sweep.”
Fear and uncertainty have weighed heavy on the immigrant community in New Orleans.
A witness saw federal agents chase down and arrest people in the parking lot of a New Orleans home improvement store Wednesday morning. “They tried to run across the street but they caught them,” Jody Styles, who was at a gas station near the Lowe’s when authorities converged, said of the arrest.
Some businesses in heavily Hispanic areas have shuttered, saying they will remain closed until the operation is over. Other businesses have signs on their doors barring federal immigration agents from entering.
Posted on the door of Los Hondureños, a restaurant in nearby Kenner, was a handwritten note saying it was closing until further notice. It ended: “Thank you, The Hondurans.”
Earlier this week, dozens of people took to the streets, despite rain and chilly temperatures, to protest the imminent crackdown. On Tuesday, more than 200 people filled a local church for a training on their legal rights and how to safely record federal immigration agents’ activity, including anticipated arrests.
Some immigration lawyers say they have been inundated with calls from people trying to prepare for the federal crackdown.
As the operation began, residents took to social media, posting in neighborhood groups about the crackdown, including photos and addresses of possible sightings. Some desperately tried to decipher what information was accurate.
Louisiana Republican Gov. Jeff Landry has singled out crimes in which the suspect’s immigration status is in question, such as the killing of a French Quarter tour guide by a group that included a Honduran man who entered the country illegally.
The Trump administration also has taken aim at the city’s immigration policies.
“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.
Attorney General Pam Bondi has accused New Orleans of undermining federal immigration enforcement. The Department of Justice includes New Orleans in a list of 18 cities it considers to be providing sanctuary to immigrants without legal status.
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