Border Patrol to Hit New Orleans With ‘Swamp Sweep’ in Latest Immigration Crackdown
The Biden-era sanctuary city of New Orleans is now in the crosshairs of a sweeping immigration enforcement operation, as Border Patrol prepares to deploy more than 250 federal agents to the area starting in early December.
Dubbed “Swamp Sweep,” the operation follows similar mass arrest efforts in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Charlotte — all Democrat-run cities — where federal agents have detained hundreds of illegal immigrants in recent months. Sources familiar with the operation say the Department of Homeland Security aims to detain up to 5,000 illegal immigrants across Louisiana and Mississippi in what could become the largest interior enforcement action of the Trump administration’s second term.
Blue City Bracing for Impact
New Orleans city officials are already sounding the alarm. Democrat Mayor-elect Helena Moreno, who currently serves as City Council Vice President, launched a new website designed to instruct illegal immigrants on how to avoid or resist deportation, citing alleged “due process violations” in other cities.
“My first priority is to keep our community safe,” Moreno said in a statement. “We must demand accountability and that people’s rights are not violated.”
Local immigration activists and legal nonprofits are now scrambling to offer legal assistance, while some immigrants — fearing arrest — have already begun skipping work or going into hiding. Businesses that rely on immigrant labor and foot traffic are already taking a hit.
Shuttered Shops and Economic Strain
Ingrid Ferguson, who owns several Latino grocery stores across New Orleans, told CNN that employee call-outs are spiking and that revenue is already dropping. “People are afraid,” she said, noting that she’s been forced to step in behind the counter herself and may soon shutter multiple store locations temporarily.
Ferguson is now offering a free delivery service to customers too scared to leave their homes, as the city’s immigrant-heavy neighborhoods prepare for raids.
Louisiana’s Central Role in Deportation Network
The move to New Orleans comes as Louisiana plays an increasingly central role in the federal government’s deportation operations. The state is home to eight immigration detention centers and serves as a key hub for deportation flights across the southern U.S.
In September, President Trump’s administration opened “Louisiana Lockup,” a dedicated detention wing inside Angola Prison that can hold more than 400 deportees. It’s one of the first efforts to repurpose state correctional facilities for immigration enforcement in this new term.
The plan has earned strong support from Republican Governor Jeff Landry, who partnered with DHS to expand state cooperation with ICE.
“Together, we’re making Louisiana and America safer,” Landry said.
National Strategy Escalates
“Swamp Sweep” reflects the growing trend of federal immigration enforcement targeting sanctuary cities that have refused to cooperate with ICE and Border Patrol in recent years. With soft-on-crime mayors and open-borders rhetoric dominating Democrat strongholds, the Trump administration appears determined to flip the script.
Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, who has overseen similar operations in California and Illinois, is expected to lead the Louisiana sweep. Federal sources told NBC News that this campaign will not be limited to New Orleans but will include deportation targets across southern Mississippi as well.
With Biden’s policies long blamed for creating the worst border crisis in American history, the White House is now using every available tool to dismantle sanctuary policies — and to reassert immigration law in places that once considered themselves immune.