What we're covering here
• The Department of Homeland Security announced today the start of the anticipated immigration operation in New Orleans, dubbing it “Operation Catahoula Crunch.”
• In Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, a new immigration operation targeting undocumented Somali immigrants has begun, a source with knowledge of the plans told CNN.
• President Donald Trump said in his Cabinet meeting yesterday he does not want Somali immigrants in the United States, referring to them as “garbage” who should “go back to where they came from.”
• The latest operations come after immigration crackdowns in Los Angeles, Chicago, Memphis, Tennessee, and Charlotte, North Carolina.
• Trump’s efforts have disrupted every aspect of the immigration system: illegal border crossings have dropped, asylum cases and refugee admissions are halted, and work visas are being restricted.
Trump again attacks Rep. Ilhan Omar as ICE targets Somalis in Minnesota
President Donald Trump said Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar “and her friends” shouldn’t be allowed to serve as members of Congress as he continued to accuse Somalis of destroying the state.
“She shouldn’t be allowed to be a congresswoman, and I’m sure people are looking at that, and she should be thrown the hell out of our country,” Trump said of Omar, a Somali immigrant, during an Oval Office event today.
“All she does is complain about this country. Without this country, she would not be in very good shape. She probably wouldn’t be alive right now. So Somalia is considered by many to be the worst country on Earth. I don’t know. I haven’t been there. I won’t be there anytime soon, I hope,” Trump added.
The comments mark the latest escalation in Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric against Somalis in Minnesota, and he reiterated that he doesn’t want them in the United States. This comes as a new immigration operation targeting undocumented Somali immigrants has begun in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, a source with knowledge of the plans told CNN.
“That beautiful land, that beautiful state, it’s a hell hole right now. And the Somalians should be out of here. They’ve destroyed our country, and all they do is complain, complain, complain,” the president said on Wednesday.
“She’s a disaster,” Trump said of Omar. “She should not be, and her friends shouldn’t be allowed – frankly, they shouldn’t be allowed to be congresspeople because they don’t represent the interests of our country.”
Video shows men standing on roof as federal agents conduct immigration raid in New Orleans suburb
Video credit: FNTV
Video shows two men standing on a roof Wednesday as federal agents surrounded a home in a New Orleans suburb.
Agents wearing Border Patrol vests are also seen detaining at least one person in Kenner, Louisiana. Some of the agents are masked, the video shows.
At one point, an agent tells bystanders to back away from an unmarked law enforcement vehicle.
The roof is under construction, and it is unclear what happened before the video started or whether the two men are undocumented.
Border Patrol officers were conducting immigration enforcement operations in the area when people ran onto to the roof and were chased, one of the agents told FNTV in the video.
Several people came down on their own and were taken into custody, the agent added.
The incident occurred on the first day of the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration crackdown in New Orleans, called Operation Catahoula Crunch.
CNN has reached out to Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
Video credit: FNTV
New Orleans leaders concerned immigration operation targets city’s most vulnerable populations
Immigrants are a vital part of New Orleans, and much of the community believes the new federal immigration operation is not targeting the most violent people but is instead an effort to “round up one of the most vulnerable populations,” said City Councilmember Oliver Thomas.
After Hurricane Katrina devastated the region in 2005, the immigrant community helped rebuild critical infrastructure, repair homes, and restore commercial properties, Thomas said.
While city officials want the most violent people off the streets, Thomas said they are concerned about the profiling of Black and brown communities by “roaming posses,” echoing statements made earlier in the day by Mayor-elect Helena Moreno.
“This isn’t gun smoke,” Thomas told CNN. “… We have local law enforcement authorities. To me, it should be easy to coordinate with them, to talk about how do we apprehend the most violent criminals, the ones who are hurting us, whether they’re homegrown or illegal immigrants? There’s got to be a better way to do it.”
ACLU sues to block controversial Louisiana law making it a crime to "interfere" with ICE
As the Trump Administration launches the immigration enforcement effort the Department of Homeland Security has dubbed “Operation Catahoula Crunch” – previously referred to as “Operation Swamp Sweep” – across Louisiana, the ACLU filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging a controversial state law making it a crime to “interfere, ignore, or thwart federal immigration enforcement efforts.”
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the nonprofit Immigration Services and Legal Advocacy (ISLA), argues “Act 399,” violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments by “criminalizing protected speech, including Know Your Right presentations that explain immigrants’ legal protections during ICE arrests.”
Under the law, which went into effect in August, such presentations would be labeled as an “obstruction of justice” punishable by up to a year in prison with hard labor and thousands of dollars in fines, the ACLU said in a news release.
“ISLA was concerned that Act 399 could be invoked to prosecute, arrest, imprison, and fine the nonprofit and its agents if it continued to provide KYRs to the community,” the legal advocacy group said.
As a result, the organization stopped offering immigrant rights education presentations ahead of the launch of this week’s enforcement efforts.
CNN has reached out to Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, who is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, for comment.
Last week, Customs and Border Patrol thanked the attorney general for “standing with our officers and agents” after she shared a post on social media noting “it is against Louisiana law to obstruct (ICE) or (Customs and Border Patrol).”
In a statement following the lawsuit, Nora Ahmed, legal director for the ACLU of Louisiana, accused the attorney general of “wielding the law as broadly as she can in a desperate attempt to silence anyone who stands against the government’s cruel and inhumane immigration crackdown in this beloved City.”
Minneapolis city council member says immigration enforcement is targeting all Somalis, including US citizens
As the immigration operation targeting undocumented Somalis in Minnesota gets underway, a Somali refugee and Minneapolis city council member claims immigration enforcement authorities are targeting all people of Somali descent, even US citizens.
“They’re not just targeting so-called undocumented immigrants. They target all Somalis. Somali citizens have been stopped on the street, asked to provide documentation,” Minneapolis City Council member Jamal Osman, whose family moved to the US 26 years ago and represents the city’s largest East African community, told CNN’s Brianna Keilar Wednesday.
Minnesota is home to more than 79,000 Somalis, roughly 80% of whom reside in the Twin Cities, according to the Minnesota Compass.
“Let me just educate people. Ninety-five percent of the Somali residents in Minnesota are US citizens. Over 50% of those are born here,” Osman said. “So there’s a small number that are looking for asylum that are awaiting their asylum court date. And those folks are also in danger.”
President Donald Trump has long criticized the Somali community in Minnesota.
He referred to the community and US Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Somali immigrant who represents Minnesota, as “garbage” who should “go back to where they came from.”
The administrations’ most recent rhetoric has zeroed in on a nearly $300 million fraud scandal which centered on a nonprofit organization and a Covid-19 program meant to provide free meals to needy kids.
The vast majority of roughly 70 people charged in the case are members of the state’s Somali community, CNN has reported.
“We should not be painting the entire community with one brush and being singled out fellow Americans.” Osman said. “But now, President Donald Trump singling out and attacking one group of people…”
“I never thought there would be a time where I will tell my community to carry their passport around because you look like Somali,” the council member added.
Trump’s targeting of Minnesota Somalis is an attack on Black and Muslim community, CAIR official says
The Trump administration’s immigration operation targeting undocumented Somalis in Minnesota is an attack on the Black and Muslim community, according to the executive director of the state chapter of the nation’s largest Muslim advocacy group.
“President Trump has a history of targeting Black people throughout his history,” said Jaylani Hussein, who held a news conference Wednesday with other leaders of the Council on American-Islamic Relations chapter. “This is no different. He’s also attacking the Muslim community, and that’s something he’s also continued to do.”
Hussein estimated that fewer than a thousand Somali immigrants are in Minnesota illegally and more than 90% of Somalis in the state are at minimum on pathways to citizenship. More than 51% of the state’s Somali population was born in the US, according to 2020 Census data.
“There are many Somalis who voted for President Trump. There are many Republican Somali Americans who are extremely disillusioned and frustrated with this attack against our community unfairly,” Hussein said, encouraging people to “stand up for truth.”
25-foot buffer zone law invoked during New Orleans-area ICE arrest was ruled unconstitutional months ago
A 2024 state law designed to bar anyone from getting within 25 feet of a law enforcement officer during an active operation was cited last week by police in suburban New Orleans to try to keep a bystander with a camera away as a police officer helped federal immigration officers arrest someone
The law, however, was ruled unconstitutional 10 months ago.
“The department is aware the law is not enforceable,” Gretna Deputy Police Chief Jason DiMarco said, adding his force “will continue to assist any Federal, state or local agency performing a lawful task in our city.”
The November 26 encounter has added to a sense of “mass chaos and confusion” as one New Orleans official put it, as local leaders and south Louisiana residents braced for the latest Department of Homeland Security immigration enforcement crackdown, which began today.
The issue of the buffer zone law emerged after a police officer in Gretna – a city of about 17,000 people across the Mississippi River from New Orleans’ Garden District – invoked it late last month as he told someone to move away while videotaping him helping the federal immigration, video obtained by CNN affiliate WWL shows.
“We got a 25-foot zone. Back up,” the officer says, according to the video.
The person recording says he is allowed to record and keeps filming, WWL reported.
But while Louisiana’s majority-Republican state legislature passed the buffer zone law last year – with violators facing up to a $500 fine and two months in behind bars – it was temporarily blocked in January by US Judge John deGravelles of Louisiana’s Middle District after news media companies, including Gannett and Nexstar Media, sued Louisiana’s GOP attorney general and other state officials over it.
“The distance required is likely to impede Plaintiffs’ non-obstructive newsgathering, which, as explained in detail below, is protected by the First Amendment,” wrote deGravelles, a Barack Obama appointee, in his 61-page opinion.
State officials have appealed.
Four undocumented immigrants were arrested in the joint enforcement operation on November 26 with Gretna Police Department, Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed to CNN.
No one else was arrested in the encounter, DiMarco said, adding he would review the conduct of the officer who raised the matter of the 25-foot buffer, which DeMarco described as not standard operating procedure for his department.
Parents are afraid of being separated from their kids, Catholic priest says
A Catholic priest in Kenner, Louisiana, leading a predominantly Hispanic parish says his community is “afraid” but “have faith” as the immigration crackdown is underway in New Orleans.
“I am an immigrant so understand what they are going through,” Father Luis Duarte, an immigrant from Columbia at St. Jerome Catholic Church told CNN in a phone interview Tuesday.
During Sunday Mass, Duarte said he told parishioners they are not alone as the church plans to remain open and is there to help them.
Duarte said many parishioners are afraid, “especially those who are parents. The biggest fear they have is not to just lose the opportunity to be here, but to be separated from their children.”
Many in the Hispanic community, Duarte said, arrived to New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to help rebuild the city.
Apart from providing spiritual guidance, Duarte shared he has offered to take food to his community or support them in any way he can.
Homeland Security secretary says "the worst of the worst" will be removed from New Orleans
Hours after the Department of Homeland Security officially confirmed the beginning of its long-awaited New Orleans immigration operation, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem weighed in on social media.
“The men and women of DHS law enforcement have landed in The Big Easy,” Noem posted on X. “Operation Catahoula Crunch will remove the worst of the worst from New Orleans, Louisiana, after the city’s sanctuary politicians have ignored the rule of law.”
New Orleans City Councilmember Lesli Harris said earlier Wednesday that she believes the DHS stated goal of 5,000 arrests is unrealistic if they are truly only targeting the most dangerous suspects.
Noem’s statement was retweeted by operation commander Gregory Bovino.
“We are here arresting criminals who should not be here,” he added. “The state, local and federal law enforcement partners in Lousiana are excellent partners!!”
Watch: Federal agents stop man outside Home Depot in New Orleans suburb
A Louisiana resident told CNN federal agents stopped her husband outside a Home Depot in LaPlace, a suburb west of New Orleans, on Wednesday morning to ask about his immigration status.
“My husband was at Home Depot when they stopped him to ask about his legal status,” said the woman, who wished to remain anonymous for safety reasons. “He was born in Mexico, but he’s a permanent resident. He told them he was a resident, and they let him go.”
The woman told CNN her husband then saw agents detain another person outside the Home Depot.
This comes as the Department of Homeland Security announced today it is launching an immigration enforcement operation in New Orleans, “targeting criminal illegal aliens roaming free.”
“I don't think that there are 5,000 worst of the worst out there,” New Orleans councilmember says
New Orleans City Councilmember Lesli Harris said immigration officials seeking at least 5,000 arrests in her city is “not realistic.”
“I think what they’re talking about is not realistic,” Harris told CNN. “ I don’t think that there are 5,000 worst of the worst out there. … I don’t see the data backing the numbers,” Harris told CNN’s Pamela Brown this morning.
Right now, New Orleans feels like a “place of fear and anxiety,” where a lot of people are staying home from work or keeping their children out of school over concerns about immigration raids, Harris said.
“I think everybody is on high alert right now,” she said.
When asked if she sees an upside in getting violent criminals off the streets, Harris pointed out local police and state troopers are already “doing their job in getting criminals off the street.”
“We’re at the lowest amount of crime since the 1970s because of the efforts of our NOPD, assisted by the state police,” Harris said. “I don’t think we need additional law enforcement here in order to round up people.”
Border Patrol operation leader says hurting local economies will encourage migrants to self-deport
Some New Orleans neighborhoods are responding to the latest Trump administration immigration operation with fear and shutdowns. The man heading the effort for the Border Patrol says that’s all part of his plan.
“There’s a strategy here. This is not willy-nilly,” chief patrol agent Gregory Bovino said over the weekend in a YouTube interview with retired Border Patrol agent Gil Maza, a Bovino supporter. “This is not anything else but a well thought-out, prudent and thoughtful strategy, Gil, and that is self-deportations.”
Bovino spoke approvingly of businesses – including those owned by US citizens – closing in response to worry from employees and customers.
“When we talk about shutting those illegal alien-based economies down – just like we did in Charlotte, Los Angeles, Chicago – what happens when they get shut down long enough, Gil? … Several million more now have an option to (self-deport) before it’s too late.”
Bovino has willingly taken on the role of lightning rod in the urban operations – criticized for his heavy-handed interactions with protesters in Chicago that resulted in a judge accusing him of lying under oath, but also praised by figures like Maza who call Bovino a “dyed-in-the-wool patriot.”
Customs and Border Protection has encouraged undocumented immigrants to self-deport using the CBP Home app, promising free travel and a $1,000 payment for doing so. It is not clear how much money the Trump administration has spent on the program, but Bovino said in the weekend interview that the number of people who have taken advantage is in the “tens of thousands.”
A poll of immigrants – including documented migrants and naturalized citizens – conducted for the New York Times and KFF found that 60% say the US is no longer a “great place” for immigrants. Half said they feel “afraid” in response to increased immigration enforcement, although 40% called it “necessary.”
CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez contributed to this report.
Immigration operation targeting undocumented Somalis in Minnesota is underway
An immigration operation targeting undocumented Somalis in Minnesota is underway, according to a source with knowledge of the plans, amid stepped-up attacks by President Donald Trump against the community.
Operations vary in scope and scale, and the operation in Minnesota is expected to be led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which often takes a targeted approach, though it’s possible that Somali immigrants seeking status could be swept up in enforcement actions.
When asked about comments from President Donald Trump about not wanting Somali immigrants in the United States, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, speaking with CNN this morning, cited data analysis on Somalis in Minneapolis and other parts of the country that suggests there is “widespread fraud, particularly marriage fraud, when it comes to immigration.”
DHS provides updated arrest totals in Charlotte immigration operation
As federal law enforcement operations begin in New Orleans, the Department of Homeland Security today updated the latest arrest total from it’s immigration crackdown operation in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The enforcement surge in the Charlotte area has led to the arrest of over 425 undocumented immigrants since the operation began, the agency said.
Local officials announced a few weeks ago that the operation in the city had concluded, while federal officials refuted those claims. The Department of Homeland Security today said the operation “progresses.”
“The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and federal agencies continue to target some of the most dangerous criminal illegal aliens as Operation Charlotte’s Web progresses,” a DHS spokesperson said.
How one New Orleans restaurant is using whistles to "protect its community”
One New Orleans area breakfast and lunch restaurant said it’s working to “keep its community safe” by passing out whistles used to alert the presence of immigration officials.
Toast, a coffee, breakfast and lunch spot near the city’s Fair Grounds Race Course, says it is doing its part to “help their community.”
On the front door and windows, signs are posted:
Inside, hanging above the morning eye-opener cocktail list, is a handwritten poster offering whistles to warn others about the presence of immigration enforcement agents.
The whistles sit in container near the exit with a small printed sign that says, “Form a crowd stay loud.”
The tactic of drawing as much attention as possible and posting interaction with immigration enforcement has been used by protesters in other cities where operations commanded by Gregory Bovino have been.
An employee of the restaurant who said he was a citizen of Hispanic heritage told a CNN crew he was nervous, but proud of his employer’s actions.
FBI says it "will not tolerate assaults" on law enforcement during New Orleans operation
The FBI New Orleans field office and Louisiana State Police announced Wednesday a joint enforcement effort to “deter assaults on federal officers and attempts to obstruct law enforcement actions” as the federal immigration operation is underway in New Orleans.
“We will not tolerate assaults on law enforcement officers in Louisiana and there will be consequences,” FBI New Orleans Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Tapp said in a news release.
“We will be on the streets and partnered with the Louisiana State Police and additional federal law enforcement to investigate and arrest anyone assaulting law enforcement officers, unlawfully impeding federal law enforcement activity, or assisting anyone to commit this criminal activity,” Tapp added.
Col. Robert P. Hodges, the state police superintendent, said his troopers would be in uniform and operating marked vehicles “to ensure a visible and coordinated presence.”
“Troopers will take immediate action on all state-level criminal violations involving the assault or battery of any law enforcement personnel—federal, state, or local—as well as incidents involving criminal damage to property,” Hodges said.
New Orleans business remains closed to keep people "safe" as immigration operation begins
A restaurant remains closed for fourth day in order keep its community “safe” amid immigration enforcement activity. Taqueria Guerrero, a Mexican restaurant located in the Mid-City neighborhood in New Orleans, did not open its doors on Wednesday morning.
A social media post from the restaurant said it made the “painful decision to close” due to immigration enforcement “raids.”
“Our hearts are with everyone affected. The safety, dignity, and peace of mind of our staff and our community mean more to us than anything,” the post said, adding, “We refuse to operate in a way that puts anyone at risk or adds to the fear that so many are already feeling.”
On the locked doors of the business, posters warn immigration officials they are not allowed to enter the restaurant without a warrant.
“Thank you for standing with us. Thank you for standing with each other. We love you,” the restaurant said in a post.
Why did attorneys move to drop their lawsuit over immigration agents’ use of force in Chicago area?
Attorneys for a group of protesters, clergy and journalists have moved to dismiss their lawsuit challenging federal agents’ use of force in the Chicago area, but why?
“Ordinarily, there are two strategic reasons you might dismiss your own complaint,” CNN Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig said.
One reason, according to Honig, is if it’s no longer necessary — if the case is moot.
“Since Defendant (top Border Patrol official Greg) Bovino and his agents left the Northern District, Plaintiffs’ counsel has not received a single report of unconstitutional behavior that necessitated this case since November 8,” attorneys for the Chicago Headline Club said in a court filing yesterday before US District Judge Sara Ellis.
“The way they phrased it, it’s a declaration of victory of sorts,” Honig said. “‘We wanted them out and they’re gone.’”
Bovino left Chicago last month to lead an immigration crackdown in Charlotte, North Carolina, and today, The Department of Homeland Security announced the start of an immigration operation in New Orleans, dubbing it “Operation Catahoula Crunch.”
Another reason a plaintiff might drop their own lawsuit is to avoid setting a bad precedent, according to Honig.
In this case, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to weigh in on an appeal from the Trump administration, and paused the injunction issued last month by Ellis. The injunction imposed restrictions on federal immigration enforcement’s use of force against protesters and reporters in the Northern District of Illinois.
The Trump administration has agreed to pause and move to dismiss its appeal of the injunction if Ellis dismisses the lawsuit with prejudice, so the plaintiffs couldn’t refile later.
CNN’s Alex Stambaugh and Elizabeth Wolfe contributed to this report
Incoming New Orleans mayor sees racial profiling in immigration crackdown
As New Orleans faces a federal immigration crackdown officially announced today, Mayor-Elect Helena Moreno described an atmosphere of fear that has swept across the Crescent City.
“It’s more than nervousness. I mean people are incredibly fearful of what could be coming,” she told CNN.
Moreno says Customs and Border Protection appears to be racially profiling rather than an attempt to arrest violent criminals.
“What they’re seeing on TV and reports that they’re seeing is not that Border Patrol is going after the most violent criminals. That’s not what they’re seeing,” said Moreno. “What they’re seeing is what appears to be racial profiling of brown people and then going after these individuals and treating them like they are these significantly violent offenders.”
“I know that I don’t look Latina, but my father very much does,” Moreno said. “And my father speaks with an accent, so to me, that was very personal to me.”
Despite having limited powers as the mayor-elect, Moreno told CNN she is mobilizing a call to action to try to make sure residents understand their rights if they are detained as well as asking for immigration law experts to volunteer their services.
DHS will seek 5,000 arrests "or beyond" during New Orleans immigration enforcement surge, Assistant Secretary says
The newly launched immigration enforcement surge in New Orleans, dubbed “Operation Catahoula Crunch,” will seek 5,000 arrests “or beyond,” Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said speaking with CNN’s John Berman on CNN News Central this morning.
“We’re talking about child pedophiles who are on our list of targets, burglars, gang members, rapists — those individuals we are highly targeting,” McLaughlin told CNN.
When asked about comments from President Donald Trump about not wanting Somali immigrants in the United States and referring to them as “garbage” during his cabinet meeting yesterday, McLaughlin cited the data analysis on Somalis in Minneapolis and other parts of the country that suggests there is “widespread fraud, particularly marriage fraud when it come to immigration.”
When questioned about the review done by the Trump administration in April before granting asylum to Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the Afghan man accused of shooting two National Guard members near the White House last week, McLaughlin said asylum applicants should instead be considered as refugees.
“It’s actually a bastardization of the process, because you are letting these individuals in by parole instead of as refugees where there is a cap on those individuals,” she said.
