The Trump administration is preparing its federal immigration agents for a ‘swamp sweep’ in America’s most notorious quagmire. New Orleans will soon see an increased presence of immigration officials tasked with carrying out Trump’s sweeping deportation mandate. Around 250 agents will be dispatched to Louisiana to round up at least 5,000 illegal migrants.
The mission, dubbed the ‘Swamp Sweep,’ is the latest stop in a stint of nationwide immigration missions. Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino, a close ally of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem who has overseen operations in Chicago and Los Angeles, is expected to lead the effort. The planned operation has terrified the immigrant population of liberal New Orleans.
Leading up to the planned operation, local businesses have displayed signage forbidding federal agents from entry and immigration lawyers have received a surge in calls. ‘The safety, dignity and peace of mind of our staff and our community mean more to us than anything,’ Taqueria Guerrero, a local restaurant, posted on social media. ‘We refuse to operate in a way that puts anyone at risk or adds to the fear that so many are feeling.’
The restaurant closed on November 30 and will remain shuttered for an uncertain amount of time as immigration officials conduct operations around the city. New Orleans has some liberal sanctuary city laws that restrict how local law enforcement can interact with federal immigration officers. Its main jail is known to not work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. There are an estimated 100,000 to 250,000 illegal immigrants residing in Louisiana, according to a 2023 Pew Research Center survey.
DHS did not confirm or deny the existence of the ‘swamp sweep’ operation when pressed by the Daily Mail’s request for comment. Bovino’s last immigration crackdown in Chicago netted close to 3,200 arrests. ‘Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte, you name it… We’re finding and arresting illegal aliens, making these communities safer for the Americans who live there,’ Bovino posted on social media over the weekend.
Still, the Trump administration has failed to hit its lofty goal of one million deportations in its first year. Currently, his administration is on track to hit nearly 600,000 deportations in its first year, though DHS has reported over 1.6 million people have self-deported from the US. Authorities have even offered free flights and $1,000 stipends to illegal migrants in the US to facilitate their travel to their country of origin.
