NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans’ mayor-elect said Friday that a federal immigration crackdown launched this week is already causing harm as encounters between masked agents and residents, including some caught on video, has prompted public backlash in the blue city.
Frustrated city officials pointed to the case of Jacelynn Guzman, a 23-year-old U.S. citizen who was walking back to her Louisiana home from a trip to the grocery store on Wednesday when a truck pulled up beside her and two masked federal agents approached her, according to security footage obtained by The Associated Press.
Guzman began running away as a second vehicle arrived and the agents pursued her down the sidewalk until she reached her family’s home in Marrero, a neighborhood across the Mississippi River from downtown New Orleans. Guzman’s mother has lived there her entire life.
“We’re legal, we are from here, born and raised,” Guzman shouted back at the agents. “Don’t chase me, that is disgusting.”
Several hundred agents under Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino have converged on Southeast Louisiana this week as part of an immigration enforcement operation seeking to arrest 5,000 people. The Department of Homeland Security has touted dozens of arrests with only limited details released. Many Hispanic residents feel their community is at risk of being abused or detained by agents regardless of their legal status.
Alongside city council members, Democratic Congressman Troy Carter, Hispanic leaders, and civil rights advocates, Mayor-elect Helena Moreno expressed “deep concern over recent actions” by federal agents. She said the operation is causing harm — forcing businesses to shutter and workers to stay home out of fear of mass arrests.
While federal officials have repeatedly said the goal of the operation is to target dangerous criminals who entered the country illegally, Moreno argued “that does not appear to be the case.”
Moreno said she is asking for regular public briefings from federal agencies, which she asks includes data on the stops, detentions, charges, warrants, outcomes, and if any of the people detained have violent criminal histories. “Without this full visibility into these enforcement actions, it is impossible to determine whether this particular operation is actually targeting the most dangerous offenders,” Moreno said.
