The Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday that New Orleans will be the next U.S. city targeted in a federal crackdown on criminal illegal immigrants, following recent enforcement operations in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Charlotte, as reported [1] by the New York Post.
The initiative, titled “Operation Catahoula Crunch,” was detailed in a DHS statement and comes one day after the New York Times reported a separate Immigration and Customs Enforcement plan to target Somali illegal immigrants in Minnesota’s Twin Cities.
OPERATION CATAHOULA CRUNCH.
DHS law enforcement has been surged to New Orleans, Louisiana, to target the violent criminal illegal alien that sanctuary politicians have allowed to roam free.@POTUS [2] Trump and @Sec_Noem [3] WILL NEVER stop making America safe again.
@TriciaOhio [4] pic.twitter.com/E9IRpAUDIN [5]— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) December 3, 2025 [6]
“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,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said.
“It is asinine that these monsters were released back onto New Orleans streets to COMMIT MORE CRIMES and create more victims. Catahoula Crunch targets include violent criminals who were released after arrest for home invasion, armed robbery, grand theft auto, and rape. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, we are restoring law and order for the American people.”
The agency released a roster listing 10 individuals who were arrested for crimes such as aggravated assault, burglary, child endangerment, sexual battery, and other offenses, but were subsequently released from local custody. Those named originate from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jordan, Mexico, and Vietnam.
CBS News first reported in mid-November that approximately 200 Border Patrol agents would be sent to conduct the operation. DHS did not confirm the final number on Wednesday but said enforcement preparations are underway.
At a Tuesday Cabinet meeting, President Donald Trump said New Orleans would also receive additional support from the National Guard. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry formally requested federal assistance earlier this year.
“Gov. Landry — a great guy, a great governor — he’s asked for help in New Orleans. And we’re going to go there in a couple of weeks,” Trump said.
Landry told reporters Monday that he expects Guard members to be deployed to New Orleans by Christmas. His September request asked for up to 1,000 troops to help stabilize crime conditions in the city.
A National Guard presence would be visible through one of the city’s busiest tourism periods, beginning with the annual Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day and continuing through Mardi Gras festivities, which conclude Feb. 17.
Jan. 1 will also mark the anniversary of an ISIS-inspired attack carried out by Shamsud-Din Jabbar, who drove a truck into crowds on Bourbon Street in 2025, killing 14 people and injuring 57 others.
New Orleans previously recorded the highest homicide rate in the country in 2022 — 70 murders per 100,000 residents — but crime data published by the New Orleans Police Department shows the city is currently on pace for its lowest number of homicides in nearly 50 years. As of early November, the department had recorded 97 murders.