Several dozen people marched through downtown New Orleans on Monday evening, braving heavy rain to protest the expected deployment of about 250 Border Patrol agents to the city as part of “Operation Swamp Sweep.”
Chants of “The people united will never be defeated” and “No ICE, no fear — immigrants are welcome here” echoed off the buildings surrounding City Hall, where the crowd gathered after marching several blocks.
The federal immigration enforcement surge reportedly aims to arrest 5,000 people. Some news outlets reported the intended Dec. 1 start date did not come to pass. The protest, however, follows a raid last week in Gretna, where five people were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers outside a Home Depot in what advocates say is a sign of more aggressive enforcement to come.
Among those addressing the crowd was Mitch Gonzalez, who told protesters that people close to them have already been detained and removed from the United States.
“This is my home,” Gonzalez said. “My trans sister was kidnapped and taken from me. Now she has to fight from Mexico, not even her home country, because they’re snatching people.”
Protesters emphasized that the raids and the presence of federal officers on city streets were instilling widespread fear, including among U.S. citizens and lawful residents. Others invoked the city’s history, drawing parallels to the military presence that followed Hurricane Katrina.
“We were hurting, we were abandoned — and instead of help, we got soldiers with rifles,” one speaker told the crowd. “Now again, they’re telling us the answer is more force, more surveillance. But we need housing, we need health care, we need real jobs — not soldiers.”
While many speakers were seasoned organizers, others were newer to demonstrations. Standing near the edge of the crowd, 12-year-old Harry Masters said he came because many of his friends and community members are immigrants.
“They’re very important to the community, so it’s not good that they’re being forced out of their homes,” he said.
He worried the raids would damage the city: “There’s no possible positive outcome.”
His mother, Diane Masters, said New Orleans doesn’t have an “immigrant crime problem” and described the federal tactics as unnecessary and harmful.
“The immigrants in our community are generally really helpful, good people, caring members of the community,” she said. “It’s not fair to be terrorizing people.”
Other longtime residents echoed that message. Kristen Dugas said she attended because New Orleans “was founded and built by Black and brown hands and immigrants.”
“Don’t come in our city that welcomes immigrants from the get-go and tell us we’re slamming doors in their faces,” she said. “No. Wrong.”
The protest was organized by New Orleans Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, with the support of groups including Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Indivisible NOLA, and Union Migrante, among others.
Protesters said they plan to keep organizing as long as “Operation Swamp Sweep” continues.
This story was produced by the Gulf States Newsroom, a collaboration between Mississippi Public Broadcasting, WBHM in Alabama, WWNO and WRKF in Louisiana and NPR.
