About 250 federal border agents are expected to begin a lengthy immigration enforcement operation across southeast Louisiana and parts of Mississippi on Monday, December 1, targeting roughly 5,000 individuals for arrest, according to planning documents reviewed ahead of the deployment.
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin confirmed that DHS continues to enforce federal law nationwide but did not comment on future operations.
The enforcement effort—called “Swamp Sweep”—will move through New Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, and St. Tammany parishes, with additional activity in southeastern Mississippi. Federal personnel will stage from existing infrastructure, including the FBI’s New Orleans field office and a nearby naval installation.
Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, who has led large-scale enforcement operations in several major cities, is expected to oversee the campaign.
The upcoming operation follows a series of stepped-up federal actions in cities where local governments have limited cooperation with immigration authorities. Recent efforts in Charlotte resulted in dozens of arrests, and past operations in other cities have required agents to contend with protesters attempting to block enforcement activity.
Federal case data from earlier operations show that many individuals taken into custody did not all the time have criminal records linked to imminent public safety threats, though federal officials have repeatedly emphasized that consistent enforcement is necessary to prevent broader security risks.
Louisiana’s state government maintains a sharply different approach from cities that restrict cooperation. The state’s Republican-led Legislature has enacted laws requiring agencies to comply with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement requests, mandating notification before releasing individuals without lawful status, and making it a crime to hinder federal enforcement. These laws give federal officers far broader access to local detention information than is available in jurisdictions that limit cooperation.
New Orleans city policy limits direct participation in immigration enforcement. The city jail remains under federal oversight, and local police classify immigration matters as civil issues outside their normal enforcement responsibilities.
Ahead of the operation, immigration attorneys reported an increase in requests for legal consultations, and some residents have remained indoors in anticipation of federal activity. Businesses in several neighborhoods have posted signs restricting entry by federal agents, and nonprofit groups have held legal-rights training for migrants.
Louisiana’s foreign-born population is about 6.7 percent, below the national average. Pew Research Center estimates indicate roughly 110,000 undocumented immigrants reside in the state, many from Honduras.
