(Louisiana Illuminator) - On Dec. 3, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security officially launched an immigration operation in New Orleans. It follows President Donald Trump’s xenophobic rhetoric broadly painting immigrants as “criminals” and in other dehumanizing ways.
Gov.Jeff Landry also requested the Pentagon support his deployment of the state National Guard in Louisiana to target people he claims are “criminal.” Yet New Orleans Police Department data show major reported incidents of violence are down in 2025 compared with 2024.
Similar federal deployments in Memphis, Tennessee; Los Angeles; Chicago; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Washington, D.C., have resulted in major abuses of Black and brown people. Residents report harassment by federal law enforcement. Border Patrol agents are openly stating they stop people based on how they look. Federal officers have turned their weapons on activists and journalists documenting government abuse. Immigration authorities have arrested U.S. citizens, often through the use of violence.
In Jefferson Parish, families are keeping their kids home for fear of immigration raids at schools.
New Orleans officials must step up to protect their residents from similar abuse.
Black and brown communities make up more than 50% of the city’s population. And while New Orleans’ immigrant communities are smaller than some, they are vibrant and critical to the city’s fabric, having contributed significantly to the city and country’s economy, history and culture.
After Hurricane Katrina, immigrants were crucial to the rebuilding effort. Deploying the National Guard to New Orleans recalls for many residents its time in the city after the hurricane, when the guard’s ability to assist was hampered by bureaucratic failure and resulted in more harm than good.
And now, today’s abusive federal and state actions stand to irreparably damage not only our immigrant communities but the whole city, creating more fear and undermining safety for all New Orleanians and its visitors.
New Orleans has become safer because of community involvement and investment in programs such as youth services, approaches that actually work. In contrast, local coordination with federal immigration enforcement can undermine safety, discourage domestic violence survivors from seeking assistance and even incentivize employers to exploit immigrant workers.
Given all this, it is troubling that New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick has not been clear about her department’s commitment to protect residents and visitors from potential federal abuses. Although she has claimed her officers will not participate in civil deportation operations that are beyond the scope of their duties, she has said they will cooperate with federal agents, which in other cities has resulted in abuses.
All this will divert money from helping New Orleans residents, despite the city’s $160 million budget crisis and city officials halting overtime pay for NOPD, firefighters and emergency medical service employees.
In Memphis, recent local cooperation with federal law enforcement has led to continuing use of pretextual stops that can be discriminatory, as well as intimidation and harassment of residents.
In Illinois, state officers and federal agents used violence against peaceful protestors and arrested journalists. Local police appeared to single out and violently arrest religious leaders.
Kirkpatrick has implied NOPD may similarly assist federal agents in response to dissent when they claim it poses a safety threat. Research from 2020 has shown that protesters participating in racial justice demonstrations were met with an escalated police presence and more likely to face arrests and police violence than other protesters.
Concerns are especially heightened in New Orleans, where a federal court recently ended a 12-year consent decree that provided court oversight of NOPD activity after the U.S. Department of Justice found in 2011 that the department engaged in excessive use of force, unconstitutional stops and arrests, and discriminatory policing.
Kirkpatrick and New Orleans officials must do more to protect all residents from federal abuse. NOPD should fully enforce city laws and protect people’s rights. The mayor and city council should more vigorously defend and speak out against the federal attack on the city. Elsewhere, in Minneapolis the police chief recently required officers to intervene in federal agents’ excessive use of force. In Chicago the mayor issued executive orders that protect residents by prohibiting the use of city property for immigration enforcement purposes. These actions should serve as a model for New Orleans.
State government will not make this easy. In June, Louisiana passed a dangerous law, Act 399, to criminalize “obstruction” of federal immigration enforcement, punishable by “hard labor.” Act 399’s author stated that one purpose of the bill was to force assistance with federal immigration officers. It has already been challenged in court.
Regardless, city leaders have a duty to protect their residents from federal abuses that have occurred in other cities. Like the local groups stepping up and providing resources for impacted residents, New Orleans officials must use every tool at their disposal to protect our community.
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Dakota is the New Orleans organizer for the Power Coalition. She is responsible for advancing equity and justice through community engagement, organizing and power building.
