In New Orleans, a sanctuary city's policies are being tested in a state that supports immigration enforcement

The immigration enforcement operation launched Wednesday in Louisiana is pitting New Orleans’ sanctuary city policies against state laws favored by Republican lawmakers

The immigration enforcement operation launched Wednesday in Louisiana is pitting New Orleans’ sanctuary city policies against state laws favored by Republican lawmakers.

Officials in New Orleans have expressed an unwillingness to aid the operation in a city rich with diversity. But unlike states like California and Illinois, where Democratic governors and lawmakers opposed to President Donald Trump’s immigration policies have pushed back, Louisiana’s top officials welcome federal intervention.

“Louisiana will not be a refuge for violent offenders. We stand with our federal partners and the law enforcement officers who protect our people every day,” Gov. Jeff Landry said in a social media post Wednesday. “Thank you to President [Donald Trump] and [Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem] for ensuring Louisiana has the resources and coordination needed to keep our citizens safe.”

“Operation Catahoula Crunch,” the name given by the Department of Homeland Security to immigration enforcement efforts in Louisiana, is the latest in a series of escalations unfolding in Democratic-led cities like Los Angeles, Chicago and, most recently, Minneapolis. It is unfolding, in part, at the behest of Landry, who has said an enforcement crackdown is key to fighting crime — even as police data shows violent crime, such as nonfatal shootings, burglary and assault, is on a downward trend in New Orleans.

The city is on pace to have its lowest number of homicides in nearly 50 years, according to the New Orleans Police Department. As of early November, there have been 97 reported murders in 2025 compared to 124 in 2024.