KEY TAKEAWAYS: Federal agents increased immigration enforcement activity during the second week of “Catahoula Crunch” Arrests were reported in Slidell and other North Shore communities, drawing protests and scrutiny DHS said 250 immigrants were arrested statewide, though fewer than 10% had criminal records Community groups report growing fear among immigrants, while officials debate enforcement policies The second week of a stepped up immigration enforcement effort in southeast Louisiana — dubbed Catahoula Crunch by federal officials — saw increased reports of immigration enforcement activity on Lake Pontchartrain’s North Shore, including in Slidell. On Saturday, volunteers from Unión Migrante, an immigrant-led civil rights group, responded to a report that federal immigration agents were conducting an arrest inside a gated community in Slidell, with assistance from St. Tammany Fire Protection’s District #1, based in Slidell. TV station WWL aired video from the arrest that showed federal agents in green tactical gear leading construction workers off of a roof, using a ladder from the local fire department. In an emailed statement shared with Verite News and other media, Lawrence Payne, a Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said Border Patrol agents attempted to arrest “three subjects” on the roof of a construction site using a “makeshift ladder.” The statement said one of the people they were after pushed the ladder, which fell and struck an agent, causing “a minor laceration to his right face” and “breaking his eyeglasses.” “Several minutes later, agents successfully secured the ladder and climbed to the rooftop, apprehending all three subjects without further incident,” the statement said. “In total, two Honduran nationals, one Mexican national, and one El Salvadorian national were arrested for being illegally present in the United States.” Also, over the weekend, protesters opposing the operation gathered in Orleans, Jefferson and St. Tammany parishes, including protesters demonstrating in front of a Latin American grocery store in Slidell that drew counter-protesters, WDSU reported. In a Thursday press release, the Department of Homeland Security said federal agents had arrested 250 “criminal illegal aliens” in the first eight days of the Louisiana sweeps. However Homeland Security officials said only 23 or less than 10% of the people apprehended have criminal records, according to the Times-Picayune. The offenses range from domestic abuse child endangerment and drug possession to driving while intoxicated and urinating in public. In that press release, Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the department, slammed so-called “sanctuary policies” in New Orleans that she said, “have endangered the lives of the citizens and visitors of its beautiful city.” McLaughlin was likely referring to two separate federally-mandated consent agreements that govern how the New Orleans Police Department and Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office interact with immigration enforcement agencies. Last week, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill sent a letter to NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick saying that the department’s policy, which limits collaboration with immigration enforcement agents, “conflict with current state law and also may be interpreted as ‘sanctuary’ policies,” the Louisiana Illuminator reported. Kirkpatrick responded with a statement saying, “NOPD will continue to follow all state and federal laws while staying focused on public safety and maintaining the trust of our community.” Despite McLaughlin’s statements on New Orleans, immigration enforcement efforts have appeared more active in areas outside of the city, including Kenner — which has the highest percentage of Hispanic residents in the New Orleans metropolitan area. Throughout the region, community activists are responding to immigrants’ fears to leave their homes, including for medical emergencies. Verite News public health reporter Halle Parker covered efforts to save a baby’s life after a mother gave birth at home, rather than risk arrest by going to the hospital. Beyond critical care, groups are providing assistance to community members most impacted by the immigration enforcement operation in the greater New Orleans area. Meanwhile Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, who has been leading enforcement operations around the country, has returned to Chicago — where communities have seen the most heavy-handed approaches, including the use of tear gas against protesters. On Wednesday, WVUE-TV Fox 8 reported that many of the Border Patrol agents that were stationed in Louisiana for “Catahoula Crunch” have temporarily relocated to the greater Chicago area, leaving a slimmer crew to continue operations here. This week, several outlets, including News Nation, reported that the Department of Homeland Security is shifting its immigration enforcement approach toward focusing on migrants with serious criminal records and away from large-scale raids at locations such as home improvement stores and away from arrests of immigrants who have been in the United States for more than a decade. “We have always been going after the worst of the worst first. There are no operational changes to announce,” a DHS spokesperson said in an emailed statement on Wednesday. Records continue to show the vast majority of immigrants detained have no criminal record. Their only offenses are civil immigration violations. This article first appeared on Verite News New Orleans and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. ...read more read less