Here's the latest
• The immigration enforcement blitz dubbed “Operation Catahoula Crunch” is underway in New Orleans, with the Department of Homeland Security aiming to make 5,000 arrests. Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino, who is leading a nationwide crackdown targeting Democratic-run cities, is on the ground.
• A New Orleans City Council meeting went into recess this morning after protests erupted when public comment was suspended. Demonstrators advocating for ICE-free zones shouted, “Shame on you,” and, “Let the people speak.” One protester was forcefully carried out of the meeting.
• Federal officials are also making a deportation push in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. Local officials have vowed to defend Somali residents as President Donald Trump ramps up his rhetorical attacks on the community. Minneapolis’ mayor has banned government agencies from using city-owned parking lots and other spaces for enforcement operations.
Gov. Tim Walz slams Trump's "horrific slurs" against Minnesota Somali community
Minnesota’s Democratic Gov. Tim Walz today defended his state from recent comments made by President Donald Trump disparaging the state’s Somali residents and calling Minnesota a “hell hole.”
“The reason President Trump is throwing racial slurs out. The reason he’s throwing horrific slurs at me on Thanksgiving Eve, or to Ilhan Omar, is because he’s failing on every front. It’s because it’s collapsing around him,” the governor continued.
Walz said the federal government should look to itself for blame on any residents with visa issues. “You would think, if you’re the Secretary of Homeland Security, that you would know the state has nothing to do with the issues of visa, that it’s the federal government,” he said.
The governor also expressed frustration over local municipalities not being informed about immigration enforcement actions ahead of time and local law enforcement having to step in to protect their communities.
“They bring these folks in from Texas or somewhere like that. I’m sure they’re too cold to get out of their cars to harass people,” Walz quipped.
“These folks come in and do it and cause massive chaos. And then, when Minnesotans step up and express their First Amendment rights, we have to send our people in. And they’re confused on why St. Paul Police, Minneapolis Police, State Patrol is showing up on this — because we have no idea, and our responsibility is to make sure that they’re safe,” the governor said.
"Love and respect" are all community asks for, Minneapolis mayor says
Surrounded by Minneapolis’ interfaith leaders, the city’s Mayor Jacob Frey took a moment Thursday to address people who may have never before visited the Minnesota city.
“Maybe you’ve never met a Somali person before. Maybe you’re from Middle America or a rural town. Maybe you’re a White guy like me,” Frey said at a news conference.
“I don’t want you to just think about somebody else’s family or somebody else’s faith. I want you to think about your own family and your own faith,” he said.
“I invite you to come to Minneapolis. We’ll welcome you in … We care about you. We love you,” Frey continued. “All our Somali community is asking for — all our diverse communities throughout Minneapolis are asking for — is that kind of love and respect in return.”
Faith leaders and politicians speak out against ICE action in the Twin Cities
Muslim, Jewish and Christian faith leaders, community activists and local politicians spoke out Thursday against the immigration enforcement action in the Twin Cities.
“Families are being profiled, intimidated and targeted. ICE harassment is increasing, and our neighbors are living with anxiety, and no human should have to endure that,” Imam Yusuf Abdullah said.
Abdullah said when political leaders, including President Donald Trump, use harmful and inflammatory rhetoric about migrants, it leads to harassment and violence against them.
“When immigrants are threatened, the whole fabric of Minnesota is threatened, but today we say no more,” he said.
“So I ask all of us today, stand with your neighbors, stand with immigrant families. Stand for justice, safety and humanity, because this is our home and we are not going anywhere,” he said.
Federal agents chase US born woman back to her Louisiana home
Videos obtained by CNN show federal agents chasing a US born woman back to her home in Marrero, Louisiana, on Wednesday.
Jacelynn, who asked to be identified by her first name only because of privacy concerns, is a 22-year-old mother who says she was born and raised in the New Orleans suburb. She told CNN she was walking home from the grocery store when masked federal agents in an SUV approached her.
“I got spooked by how fast they pulled up,” Jacelynn said. “Two people came out, and they were like ‘Ma’am, ma’am, come here, please,’ and I kept yelling at them saying, ‘I’m legal! I’m a US born citizen! Please, leave me alone! I’m going home, my daughter is in the house. My baby is waiting for me!’”
Federal agents wearing “ICE” labeled vests then attempted to get closer to her, she told CNN.
“They were trying to tell me to wait, but I did not trust them one bit, especially since I’m a woman and I’m alone, and they are masked men surrounding me,” Jacelynn added. “I tried to walk away, then another car pulled up, and a bunch of men hopped out, which was even more scary for me, so I ran, and he chased after me.”
Video Jacelynn’s family shared with CNN shows the young mother screaming “Leave me alone!” at agents as she runs toward her home.
Another video shows Jacelynn’s stepfather confronting the federal agents outside the home before agents got in their cars and left.
“I just don’t understand how they’re allowed to do that. It’s harassment and attempted kidnapping. I felt like he kept trying to get closer to grab me because when I ran and looked back, he had his arms out,” Jacelynn told CNN.
It’s unclear why federal agents targeted Jacelynn, who says she’s a US born citizen.
CNN has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for more information.
Council member says protest is part of democracy, but "we should also be respectful'
New Orleans City Council member Oliver Thomas expressed support for the right to protest after a City Council meeting was disrupted today — but said there is a correct way for advocacy to happen.
Several public commenters had their microphones cut while advocating for ICE-free zones after City Council President JP Morrell told attendees who planned to make comments he would cut their microphones if their comments did not apply to the agenda item at hand.
Morrell then moved to suspend public comment, which was followed by loud dissent from protesters. The meeting then went into recess.
Morrell was also likely exercising fairness, Thomas said. “The council president has been consistent in terms of being germane to the subjects. The one thing governing bodies have to do is be consistent.”
Some protesters were removed from the meeting, escorted out into a hallway and outside the gates of City Hall.
'People are scared' Minneapolis police chief says of Somali community
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the immigration crackdown on the city’s Somali community has created widespread fear.
In the last week there has been an increase in calls to police with residents sending videos of ICE enforcement including arrests and traffic stops, O’Hara said.
The crackdown has even made US citizens afraid of being wrongfully targeted, according to the chief. Residents, he said, are afraid to go to church and some merchants have lost business because people are fearful of going to certain grocery stores.
“People are scared,” O’Hara told CNN’s Pamela Brown. “American citizens have literally shown me their passport to say that they are carrying it. They have expressed fear for their children who were born in the US, just afraid that they might get mistaken for someone who is not here legally.”
When asked about Trump’s comments calling Somali migrants “garbage,” O’Hara insisted that the Somali community had been very welcoming to him when he was appointed chief in 2022 and that some serve on the police force.
Protesters removed from New Orleans City Council meeting
A group of protesters who were in attendance at this morning’s New Orleans City Council meeting and had become disruptive, causing the meeting to go into recess, has been pushed out of gates of City Hall.
One person was seen being forcefully carried out of the meeting room by New Orleans Police. CNN reached out to police for comment, who said there were no injuries and no arrests made.
The group could be heard yelling, “We will be back!”
The protesters were removed from the meeting, escorted out into a hallway and outside the gates of City Hall.
Protesters interrupt city council meeting with chants of "Let the people speak"
A New Orleans City Council meeting went into recess this morning after protests erupted when public comment was suspended.
Council President JP Morrell had told attendees who planned to make comments on agenda items he would cut their microphone if their comments did not apply to the agenda item at hand.
Several public commenters had their microphone cut after advocating for ICE-free zones. “That is not germane,” Morrell said. Speakers continued to make comments after their microphone had been cut.
Morrell then moved to suspend public comment, which was followed by loud dissent from the crowd. The meeting then went into recess.
Shouts of “Shame on you” and “Let the people speak” could be heard.
New Orleans City Council member calls on federal agents to cooperate with local authorities
New Orleans City Council member Eugene Green is urging federal officials to cooperate with local law enforcement during the immigration enforcement operation rattling the area.
Federal officials haven’t been forthcoming with details on how they’ll be operating in New Orleans, said Green. He and fellow City Council members created a “Know Your Rights” website, which residents can use to report alleged abuse by federal immigration agents. The allegations would be investigated by local law enforcement, said Green.
Council member Lesli Harris expressed a similar sentiment yesterday to CNN’s Pamela Brown — praising local law enforcement officers for their efforts and rejecting the need for federal enforcement to come to the Big Easy.
“I don’t think we need additional law enforcement here in order to round up people,” said Harris.
How did the Twin Cities become home to largest population of people of Somali descent in the US?
The Minneapolis-St. Paul area is home to the largest population of Somalis in the country, according to the US Census Bureau.
More than half of the Somalis in Minnesota were born in the US, according to the US Census Bureau. Of the foreign-born Somalis in Minnesota, a majority — 87% — are naturalized US citizens.
As a new Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation targeting undocumented Somali immigrants ramps up in the area, how did so many people of Somali descent end up in the Twin Cities?
Citizens of Somalia were first granted Temporary Protected Status in the US in 1991 when the country was plunged into chaos and civil war after dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown.
Minnesota became a hub of Somali migration due to its welcoming infrastructure.
Refugee resettlement agencies and nonprofit faith-based organizations helped smooth the migration process and offered social and professional resources, according to the the Minnesota Historical Society.
There were also employment opportunities in entry-level positions that did not require English proficiency in the agricultural and meat processing industries in rural Minnesota, and the Minneapolis-St. Paul area became popular because of opportunities for jobs, housing and education, according to the historical society.
“Somalis face discrimination both as Africans in America and as Muslims in America,” the Minnesota Historical Society said in an article. “In spite of these challenging conditions, they have forged livelihoods and created a thriving community in Minnesota for more than twenty years.”
US Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Somali immigrant who represents Minnesota, became the first Somali American elected to Congress in 2018.
Omar, whose been frequently singled out by President Donald Trump, has said the new immigration enforcement operation targeting undocumented Somali immigrants in Minnesota, “has really nothing to do about keeping a community safe. It’s actually terrorizing a community and creating fear.”
CNN’s Emma Tucker and Julie In contributed to this report.
Worry strikes New Orleans' Vietnamese community
As ICE cracks down on immigration enforcement in New Orleans, many immigrants in New Orleans’ deeply-rooted Vietnamese community are worried about being targeted, according to CNN affiliate WWL.
Roughly 3,500 residents in New Orleans were born in Vietnam, WWL reported, according to the Census Bureau. Many Vietnamese immigrants came to Louisiana as refugees after the fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War in 1975.
Vietnamese immigrants with criminal convictions or those who have violated immigration laws are facing the highest risk of being deported in the current crackdown.
“A lot of my Vietnamese clients are nervous now,” Michael Gahagan, a local immigration attorney, told WWL. “I’m starting to see a big influx of Vietnamese clients who normally would know they would never get deported. But now the situation has changed.”
Immigration crackdown in Minnesota is about creating fear, lieutenant governor says
The immigration crackdown underway in Minnesota’s Twin Cities is “all about striking fear into the hearts of Minnesotans,” Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan told CNN’s Kate Bolduan on CNN News Central this morning.
Flanagan also took a swipe at comments made by President Donald Trump — who referred to the state’s Somali community as “garbage” who should “go back to where they came from.”
The president’s comments were “vile” and “dehumanizing,” said Flanagan.
“This is just about making people afraid of folks who are our healthcare professionals, our teachers, our congresswomen, our mayors, our neighbors. And it’s disgusting,” she added.
The president yesterday said Minnesota’s US 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.
Know the political landscape of states currently experiencing immigration enforcement blitzes
Minnesota:
- Tim Walz is the current governor of Minnesota and a member of the Democratic Party.
- The state’s major cities of Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Rochester are Democratic strongholds.
- The state, as a whole, went 50.9% for Kamala Harris and 46.7% for Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
Louisiana:
- Jeff Landry is the current governor of Louisiana and a member of the Republican Party.
- The state’s major cities of New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Shreveport are Democratic strongholds.
- The state, as a whole, went 60.2% for Donald Trump and 38.2% for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
"Righteous anger" drives community member to document authorities' interactions with immigrants
At a training session aimed at teaching citizens to record immigration enforcement activities in New Orleans one participant said a “righteous anger,” drove them to become involved.
The session was conducted by Union Migrante a grassroots organization who says they want to be the eyes on the government’s activities in the region.
The group has been holding multiple training session in the lead up to the enforcement surge in New Orleans. Session leaders said they aimed to educate the community on how to record encounters and share relevant information.
Nearly twenty people attended Wednesday night’s session held in a large conference hall in Gretna, Louisiana, a town about a 10 minute drive across the Mississippi River from New Orleans. As part of the session they worked thru role-playing scenarios, provided education on basic law around interactions with authorities and instructions on recording their activity.
The group has been quickly posting videos of immigration enforcement encounters to their social media, along with information on where the videos were taken. The posts are in both Spanish and English.
The videos have been widely shared on social media throughout the community.
New Orleans City Council launches online portal for reporting alleged abuse
New Orleans residents can now report alleged “abuse or misconduct” from federal officers through a new online portal opened by the City Council.
The webpage, launched the same day as the federal immigration crackdown in the New Orleans area began, allows users to upload video of possible abuse, and notes users do not need to provide their real name.
The page also provides “Know Your Rights” handouts in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.
“The announcement of Operation Catahoula Crunch has caused significant alarm in our city and created a culture of fear among our most vulnerable residents,” New Orleans Mayor-elect Helena Moreno said in a statement Wednesday.
Moreno emphasized the need to document potential issues during the federal operation and to “ensure due process is followed for all of our residents.”
Council President JP Morrell said the portal will also help provide transparency around federal officers’ activity.
“While the federal government claims they are only targeting violent criminals, we have all seen the reports of law-abiding residents being ripped away from their families and loved ones to serve a political agenda,” he said in the statement.
Here's the latest on the immigration crackdowns in New Orleans and the Twin Cities
Immigration crackdowns are underway in New Orleans and the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul in Minnesota — the latest targets of President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration enforcement push that’s seen a surge of federal agents flood the streets of Democratic-led cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, and Charlotte, North Carolina.
Here’s the latest from our reporters on the ground and beyond:
New Orleans
- “Operation Catahoula Crunch” will seek at least 5,000 arrests, the Department of Homeland Security said, with Secretary Kristi Noem saying it will “remove the worst of the worst.” But that number is “not realistic,” New Orleans City Council member Lesli Harris said, telling CNN: “I don’t think that there are 5,000 worst of the worst out there.”
- Mayor-elect Helena Moreno, who was born in Mexico, said she sees racial profiling in the crackdown.
- Much of the community believes the crackdown is not targeting the most violent people but is instead an effort to “round up one of the most vulnerable populations,” City Council member Oliver Thomas said.
- A 2024 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 to try to keep a bystander with a camera away. But that law was ruled unconstitutional 10 months ago.
- The ACLU filed a lawsuit challenging a controversial state law making it a crime to “interfere, ignore, or thwart federal immigration enforcement efforts.”
- Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino was seen walking around the French Quarter and at a Home Depot parking lot in suburban Kenner. Bovino is leading the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement crackdown across the country.
Twin Cities
- As President Donald Trump escalated his rhetorical attack on Somalis in Minnesota, reiterating he doesn’t want them in the US, officials in the state vowed to defend the Somali community in the Twin Cities.
- Immigration enforcement authorities are targeting all people of Somali descent, even US citizens, said a Somali refugee who is a Minneapolis City Council member. Minnesota is home to more than 79,000 Somalis, roughly 80% of whom live in the Twin Cities.
- Under a new executive order by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, federal, state and local agencies are banned from using city-owned parking lots, ramps, garages or vacant lots for immigration enforcement operations.
- Protesters gathered near the Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport facility that serves as a base for deportation flights to denounce ICE operations targeting Somalis.
Police chief in Louisiana city welcomes federal crackdown
The police chief of Kenner, Louisiana, welcomed federal immigration enforcement operations in his city, telling CNN affiliate WVUE he has sought federal help for years.
“I’ve been asking for it since I got elected in 2022. The federal government, our federal partners, have resources that we just don’t have,” Kenner Police Chief Keith Conley told WVUE.
Conley pointed to crime in Kenner that he says were committed by undocumented immigrants, telling WVUE: “If there was real immigration reform or if detainers were issued and followed through on, those subjects probably would not have been in the streets of Kenner.”
The Department of Homeland Security said targets of the newly launched immigration enforcement operation include “violent criminals who were released after arrest for home invasion, armed robbery, grand theft auto, and rape.”
But New Orleans Mayor-Elect Helena Moreno has suggested federal agents appear to be racially profiling rather than attempting to arrest violent criminals.
Conley urged people to contact authorities if they feel they have been racially profiled.
“If you feel that you’ve been profiled or, you know, picked out on any bias or you feel that you’ve been unjustly treated in any form or fashion, you can either contact our Internal Affairs Division or…the FBI,” he told WVUE.
Men seen on roof surrounded by federal agents were workers repairing damage, homeowner says
Two men seen on video standing on a roof as federal agents surrounded a home in a New Orleans suburb on Wednesday were roofers, the homeowner told CNN affiliate WVUE.
CNN previously reported on the incident in Kenner, Louisiana, which happened on the first day of the immigration crackdown in the area.
In a video, shot by FNTV, agents wearing Border Patrol vests can be seen swarming the home and detaining at least one person.
One of the agents told FNTV in the video that Border Patrol officers were conducting immigration enforcement operations when people ran onto the roof and were chased. Several people came down on their own and were taken into custody, the agent added.
The homeowner told WVUE the two men on the roof were repairing damage sustained by last year’s Hurricane Francine when federal agents arrived.
CNN has reached out to Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
Video taken in Kenner, Louisiana shows two men standing on a roof Wednesday as federal agents surround a home in a suburb outside of New Orleans. It’s not clear why Border Patrol agents did not attempt to get the two men off the roof before leaving the scene or if the men are undocumented.
Somali shopping center goes quiet amid Minneapolis immigration crackdown
A usually bustling Minneapolis mall that hosts dozens of Somali shops was largely quiet Wednesday as anxiety over the federal immigration operation in the Twin Cities spreads.
“We’ve never been empty like this,” a woman who runs a hair salon told CNN. She said usually “we are busy, always working, but today there is nobody … they are hiding.”
The Karmel Mall is filled with rows of boutiques selling traditional Somali attire, colorful prayer mats and gold jewelry. Offices interspersed offer visa and overseas shipping services.
Some members of the Somali community at the mall are carrying their US passports on them everywhere where they go.
“I got my passport right here, I’m not going to lie to you,” said Edil, a 24-year-old American-born Somali woman who only wanted to give her first name, describing the situation as “insane.”
Mohamed Amin Ahmed said the mall typically has “amazing” energy. “Commerce is something that the Somali community does very well,” he added.
Ahmed told CNN he’s faced backlash within his community because he campaigned for President Donald Trump during last year’s election.
“People are saying ‘we told you so … you gave us this presidency, and now we are being called garbage,’” he said.
Despite this, Ahmed said he maintains hope in Trump. He said if he could speak to the president he would implore him to “differentiate between good, bad, and evil.”
What the Somali community in Minneapolis is saying
With Minneapolis a major target of President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown, CNN found anxiety and outright fear there this week.
A man working at a bakery at the Karmel Mall who gave only his first name, Fawzi, was nervous even though he was born in the Minnesota city, he said.
Outside the 24 Somali Mall, a man panhandling on a snowy street was approached by armed men in law enforcement vests marked “ERO,” or Enforcement and Removal Operations, CNN witnessed. They asked him for his identification before letting him go, said the man, who declined to give CNN his name and said he is a US citizen born in Buffalo, New York.
The man showed the agents his “papers,” he told CNN, adding he wouldn’t have had a problem with doing so had the agents not been so “aggressive.”
Kamal Ali, who runs a dump truck business with his father and brother, made sure to stick his passport in his wallet before heading to Karmel Mall.
“I don’t want no issues,” said Ali, who told CNN he came to the US at age 10 with his parents after living in a refugee camp in Somalia.
Abdul Abdullahi, who runs an employment office, said he finds Trump’s words about the Somali community “shameful.”
Some Minnesotans CNN spoke to had voted for Trump. A patron at Karmel Mall said he attended a Trump rally in Minneapolis in 2019 but was turned away as the venue was full.
Trump’s rhetoric, Mohamud said, will boost the president’s standing at the expense of the local Somali community.
