New Orleans Police Break Trend, Back Federal Enforcement

Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

The High Points:

• Activist groups plan to resist New Orleans immigration operations, copying Chicago tactics.

• Unlike other cities, New Orleans police plan to cooperate with the federal crackdown.

• DHS won’t confirm details but says enforcement will continue nationwide.

What’s happening in New Orleans feels like the next chapter in a national showdown that’s been building for years. Activist groups are already gearing up to resist federal immigration enforcement, using Chicago’s chaos as their model — the same blueprint that turned routine operations into street-level brawls. But this time there’s a twist: New Orleans police aren’t planning to obstruct or play political games. Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick made it clear she’s not joining removal teams, but she’s not going to sabotage the effort either. In today’s climate, that alone feels revolutionary.

Of course, DHS is playing it close to the vest, refusing to confirm anything. That’s standard. But the real message came through anyway: even as Bovino moves on, the feds aren’t pulling out of any city he’s touched. Enforcement isn’t going away.

This is shaping up to be a national test — whether law enforcement cooperation beats activist disruption. New Orleans might tell us a lot.

From Breitbart:

President Donald Trump’s deputies will next take their citywide immigration enforcement strategy southward to New Orleans, Louisiana, according to reports.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is set to deploy some 250 law enforcement officers in what is dubbed “Operation Swamp Sweep” to continue Trump’s nationwide immigration crackdown, the Associated Press reported.

The next phase of the crackdown will be led by Customs and Border Protection chief Gregory Bovino, who has become Trump’s go-to leader since Chicago’s “Operation Midway Blitz” launched in September. Bovino has led citywide operations in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Charlotte, and is set to move on to the Big Easy next month.

WATCH — How the Trump Admin Is Restoring Law & Order in Democrat High-Crime Cities:

Anti-American and pro-migrant groups are already racing to oppose federal law enforcement operations in New Orleans using the experiences of violent activists in Chicago as a blueprint, according to reports.

However, unlike in previous cities where Bovino took charge of the immigration crackdown, the New Orleans Police Department is actually preparing to cooperate with Bovino’s campaign. Each of the other cities have either actively resisted or passively refused to help federal law enforcement.

People march during veterans protest in Chicago, Tuesday, November 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

New Orleans police superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick issued a warning to lawbreakers about the coming operation.

“We will not be participating in the removal, but we will always be there. They’re coming, so I am going to be a collaborator. But I also want to emphasize something to our community: To be in our country undocumented is illegal. To be illegal is not criminal,” she told reporters last Tuesday.

Still, DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin would not confirm the news.

“Every day, DHS enforces the laws of the nation across the country. We do not discuss future or potential operations,” McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin also noted that even with Bovino moving to his next posting, federal agents would not be leaving any of the cities in which he previously appeared.