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The Trump administration on Wednesday launched immigration enforcement operations in New Orleans and Minneapolis, expanding a crackdown that has been accompanied by increasingly inflammatory rhetoric from the president and heightened fear in immigrant communities.
The Department of Homeland Security said the New Orleans operation was aimed at “criminal aliens roaming free thanks to sanctuary policies,” language that mirrors the president’s recent efforts to cast entire communities as public-safety threats. Federal officials did not specify the number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel involved or how soon National Guard troops might be deployed, after President Donald Trump vowed Tuesday to send them to Louisiana.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said those targeted in New Orleans include individuals previously arrested on charges such as home invasion, armed robbery, grand theft auto and rape. But state and federal law enforcement agencies simultaneously announced measures to “deter assaults on federal officers,” signaling expectations of pushback during raids that community leaders say are sweeping up far more than dangerous offenders.
Local officials question federal framing
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican and Trump ally, welcomed the operation even as New Orleans is experiencing significant drops in crime. The city is on pace for its lowest homicide count in nearly 50 years, according to police data — a fact that undercuts repeated claims by the administration that the city’s Democratic leadership is fostering lawlessness.
The FBI’s New Orleans field office said it would join state police in supporting the raids, citing concerns about interference with federal operations. Immigrant advocates said the show of federal force was contributing to panic in Latino neighborhoods that have grown steadily since Hurricane Katrina, when thousands of residents and migrant workers helped rebuild the city.
Before the raids began, some immigrants told Noticias Telemundo they were staying indoors, skipping work and avoiding public spaces. “We’ve stopped going to work because our fear is that we’ll be stopped,” one Honduran immigrant said, requesting anonymity and declining to show his face on camera. “We’re shut in, and like me there are many.”
Jefferson Parish — home to Kenner, where Hispanics make up nearly 30% of the population — remains the center of Louisiana’s Latino community.
Minneapolis operation follows Trump’s attacks on Somalis
A senior law enforcement official confirmed similar enforcement actions were underway in Minneapolis, following reports that ICE had been preparing a regional sweep in the Twin Cities, home to one of the nation’s largest Somali American communities.
The official insisted that ICE is not specifically targeting Somali immigrants but acknowledged that officers “may be arresting some” who allegedly violated immigration laws — a distinction many local leaders said rings hollow after the president’s recent comments.
On Tuesday, Trump closed a Cabinet meeting with a tirade aimed at Somali immigrants, saying they “should go back to where they came from” and calling Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., “garbage.” He claimed Somalis “contribute nothing” to the country — remarks swiftly condemned by Minnesota officials and immigrant groups as xenophobic and dangerous.
Omar, who came to the United States as a refugee after fleeing Somalia’s civil war, responded on X: “His obsession with me is creepy. I hope he gets the help he desperately needs.”
The administration has frozen immigration applications from 19 countries, including Somalia, as part of a broader effort to restrict entry and limit legal pathways to residency.
Fear spreads as legal battles loom
Civil rights groups warn that the new enforcement operations — combined with Trump’s rhetoric — risk stigmatizing entire communities and could lead to unlawful detentions. The administration has not provided data on the number of arrests sought or whether the operations are temporary or ongoing.
Local leaders in both states urged residents to know their legal rights and report any abuses as federal officers began door-knocking operations.
For now, immigrant communities in New Orleans and Minneapolis say the message from Washington is unmistakable: stay out of sight.
