The Department of Homeland Security is sending roughly 250 Border Patrol agents to the New Orleans area for a two-month operation called “Swamp Sweep” that is slated to begin Dec. 1, with an intended focus on arresting thousands across southeast Louisiana and into Mississippi; the effort involves local officials and federal staging sites and is being presented as a public safety operation. This deployment follows similar targeted enforcement moves in major cities and brings state and federal law enforcement together to address violent crime and illegal activity in neighborhoods from New Orleans through Jefferson, St. Bernard and St. Tammany parishes and beyond. Officials say the effort will include staging and logistics like command posts and storage of equipment, while local leaders emphasize protecting communities. The plan names a Border Patrol commander to lead the push and signals a repeat of recent, large-scale enforcement sweeps elsewhere in the country.
Federal documents and local reports show the operation is sizable and deliberate, with agents moving into neighborhoods across southeast Louisiana and plans extending as far north as Baton Rouge and into parts of southeastern Mississippi. The operation’s stated target of roughly 5,000 arrests over two months reflects the scale of concern among law enforcement officials who say repeated complaints about violent and nuisance crimes have forced a stronger response. Critics will argue about tactics and civil liberties, but supporters frame the mission as a straightforward step to restore order and safety where local resources alone haven’t solved persistent problems. This is being presented as a coordinated push, not a random escalation.
Governor Jeff Landry has publicly backed federal involvement and framed it as part of a common-sense, law-and-order approach that Louisiana voters expect. “We do know that New Orleans is a place under which we’ve had illegal criminal activity, alien activity, in and around that city. Chief Conley, who is the chief of police from Kenner, has consistently had problems with illegal aliens conducting very violent crime in and around the city, in his city, and has been consistently working with the feds to try to crack that down,” Landry said while discussing the plans and local concerns. His comments underline state willingness to work with federal partners to get results quickly where the public is feeling unsafe. That alignment between state leadership and federal enforcement is central to how the operation has been organized.
Local law enforcement leaders have described chronic problems in specific community hotspots, and they point to recent joint actions where federal agencies detained people tied to local complaints. Kenner Police Chief Keith Conley, who Landry said is working closely with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Louisiana State Police, described a recent community safety push that included federal arrests and custody actions. According to Conley, Homeland Security Investigations and ICE took “13 to 15 people into their custody.” In a video the department posted, he laid out how ongoing nuisance and violent behavior at the lakefront pushed officials to seek broader federal assistance.
“You know, we’ve gotten complaints for the last three years on the lawlessness and the nuisance crimes that have been occurring at the lakefront. We’ve had a strong presence, we patrolled it, we’ve sighted people, but it just wasn’t enough. The conduct was escalating, citizens were getting harassed and bullied, strong armed, and enough is enough,” Conley said in that message, emphasizing the accumulated frustration that prompted calls for a larger response. Those exact words reflect the blunt, community-first reasoning local leaders are using to justify a federal surge. For many residents, the argument is simple: persistent harassment and violence cannot be tolerated if law enforcement is going to protect neighborhoods effectively.
Leadership for the operation reportedly falls to a Border Patrol commander with experience overseeing similar enforcement actions under the previous administration. U.S. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino has been tapped to coordinate the effort, according to those familiar with the planning. Officials say the teams will operate across a broad geography from city neighborhoods to suburban parishes, and that coordination with local police is intended to focus effort where the problems are most concentrated. The aim is to combine federal reach and resources with local knowledge to make arrests and remove dangerous actors from the streets.
On the logistics side, federal planning documents show staging locations and temporary command posts will support the sweep, and officials have sought access to military and federal facilities for storage and operational needs. Part of the FBI’s New Orleans field office has been identified as a command post in planning papers, and a naval base was requested to store vehicles, equipment and “less lethal” munitions such as tear gas and pepper balls. DHS reportedly asked to use the Navy’s Air Station Joint Reserve Base in New Orleans for up to 90 days to support the effort, illustrating the scale of the planned logistics and the federal footprint required to carry out a concentrated enforcement campaign.
These moves follow other recent DHS operations in major U.S. cities and fit a pattern of aggressive enforcement aimed at interrupting networks and violent activity believed to be tied to illegal entry or criminal actors operating in urban areas. Supporters argue these sweeps are necessary to regain control of troubled corridors and to send a clear message that lawbreakers will face consequences. DHS was contacted for comment about the planning and timing of the operation as local and federal teams finalize staging and coordination.
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