President Donald Trump's administration intends to focus on New Orleans in the next stage of its city-to-city immigration crackdown, one current and two former U.S. immigration officials said on Friday, confirming plans reported earlier this month.
U.S. Border Patrol agents could arrive in the Southern city as soon as Saturday, and the operation could run into January, the current official said, requesting anonymity to discuss plans.
Operations were expected to decrease over the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday and Christmas, the official said. New Orleans, with a population of around 384,000, would be the latest city with a Democratic mayor targeted in Trump's mass deportation push.
Since the summer, federal immigration officials have surged to Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C., sparking criticism over aggressive tactics and arrests of non-criminals. The deployment in New Orleans would follow an operation in Charlotte, North Carolina, led by U.S. Border Patrol's roving commander Gregory Bovino.
Local officials said on Thursday that operation had concluded while the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it would continue.
Reuters and other outlets reported earlier this month that Bovino planned to take the enforcement push to New Orleans after Charlotte.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Border Patrol, declined to comment on future actions in Charlotte or New Orleans.
New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said in a statement that she welcomed the arrival of Border Patrol but the department would not take part in immigration arrests.
The office of New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell, a Democrat, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.