New Orleans braces for Trump's immigration crackdown: 'We have rights' [View all]

Source: The Guardian

Sat 22 Nov 2025 09.00 EST
Last modified on Sat 22 Nov 2025 09.01 EST


New Orleanians are bracing for a major deployment of US border patrol officers to the city, as Donald Trump forges on with his mass deportation agenda and sweeping federal immigration crackdown in Democrat-led cities.

Despite falling crime, as many as 250 federal agents are expected to descend on New Orleans imminently to begin laying the groundwork for “Operation Swamp Sweep”, which the Associated Press reported is due to launch in south-east Louisiana and Mississippi on 1 December with the stated aim of arresting 5,000 people.

Trump floated sending in federal troops in September, when he declared New Orleans had “a crime problem”, adding: “We’ll straighten that out in two weeks.” The city’s violent crime rate is actually 20% lower than last year, including a historic drop in the number of murders.

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) operation will be led by Gregory Bovino, a senior border patrol commander. Bovino has already overseen aggressive campaigns in Los Angeles, Chicago and, now, Charlotte and other cities in North Carolina, where the crackdowns have triggered large-scale protests and sometimes volatile interactions between federal agents and protesters amid aggressive arrest tactics.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/22/new-orleans-trump-immigration-crackdown