Key Takeaways:
- State and federal authorities are monitoring online criticism and demonstrations against the immigration crackdown in New Orleans.
- The operation, known as "Catahoula Crunch," has resulted in the arrest of 38 people, but only nine of them have criminal histories that go beyond traffic violations.
- Local leaders are calling for greater transparency and expressing concern that the online surveillance could chill free speech.
- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has not released an accounting of the detainees taken into custody or their criminal histories.
- The operation is expected to last up to two months and aims to make at least 5,000 arrests in the region.
Introduction to the Immigration Crackdown
The immigration crackdown in New Orleans, known as "Catahoula Crunch," has sparked widespread criticism and concern among local leaders and residents. State and federal authorities are closely tracking online criticism and demonstrations against the operation, monitoring message boards around the clock for threats to agents while compiling regular updates on public "sentiment" surrounding the arrests. The intelligence gathering comes as officials have released few details about the first arrests made last week, prompting calls for greater transparency from local officials who say they’ve been kept in the dark about virtually every aspect of the operation.
Lack of Transparency and Concerns about Free Speech
The law enforcement records detail criminal histories for less than a third of the 38 people arrested in the first two days of the operation, which has raised concerns among local leaders that the sweeps are not targeted at "criminal illegal aliens" as claimed by immigration authorities. Local leaders, such as state Sen. Royce Duplessis, have expressed concern that the online surveillance could chill free speech as authorities threaten to charge anyone interfering with immigration enforcement. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has not responded to questions about the intelligence gathering and has referred the AP to a prior news release touting "dozens of arrests."
The Reality of the Operation
The records reviewed by the AP identify only nine of the 38 people arrested in the first days as having criminal histories that rose beyond traffic violations. This has led local leaders, such as New Orleans City Council President J.P. Morrell, to question the stated goals of the operation. Morrell has said that the crackdown appears to be a dragnet focused on people with brown skin, citing viral videos of encounters such as masked agents chasing a 23-year-old U.S. citizen returning home from the grocery store. The law enforcement officials have been carefully tracking such footage and public reaction, which has been mixed, with some supporting the operations while others are against them.
Monitoring Public Sentiment and Protests
The records also shed new light on cooperation among state and federal authorities in the operation, which has been welcomed by Louisiana’s Republican Gov. Jeff Landry. The FBI and Customs and Border Protection have stationed agents at the Louisiana State Analytical and Fusion Exchange, an intelligence and data sharing center that is closely following discussions on the online forum Reddit that local residents have used to exchange information about the immigration raids. The briefings have identified no threats to law enforcement, but the fusion center has sought to debunk what it called false reports that a pedestrian was fatally struck by law enforcement.
Response from Local Officials and Activists
Local officials, such as Trooper Danny Berrincha, a state police spokesperson, have said that the Louisiana State Police remains vigilant in monitoring social media activity related to protests, activism, and other forms of public response. The fusion center has also tracked the tools used by protesters to foil federal immigration enforcement, highlighting social media links to whistle handouts, trainings on filming federal agents, and the emergence of a hotline for reporting arrests. Activists, such as Rachel Taber, an organizer with the New Orleans-based grassroots advocacy group Union Migrante, have said that they are not doing anything illegal and that the surveillance is an attempt to intimidate them. Beth Davis, a spokesperson for Indivisible NOLA, has said that it is sad that authorities seem preoccupied with law-abiding citizens.