(MENAFN- Live Mint) The Trump administration's immigration crackdown widened sharply Wednesday (December 3), hitting New Orleans and Minneapolis–St. Paul-two cities with long-established immigrant communities now bracing for mass arrests. While federal officials insist the sweeps target violent offenders.

A federal immigration crackdown began in New Orleans, with Homeland Security officials confirming the operation will focus on violent offenders.

Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the aim is to apprehend immigrants previously arrested for“home invasion, armed robbery and rape.”

“These sweeps,” she said,“are targeting criminal illegal aliens that should have never been put back on the streets.”

Part of nationwide Trump-era deportation effort

The New Orleans operation expands the Trump administration's mass deportation strategy already launched in cities such as Chicago and Charlotte, North Carolina.

Another sweep is expected in Minnesota, targeting Somali immigrants. Since January, federal agents have conducted raids in both large and small communities.

Political backdrop and local tensions

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, a strong Trump ally, has been preparing for weeks. He said the operation will go after the“worst of the worst, criminal illegal aliens that have broken the law.”

“It started today,” Landry said in a radio interview,“and it's going to run until we get them all off the street.”

The deployment comes amid ongoing tension in New Orleans over immigration, despite the city's reliance on thousands of Latino workers in the years after Hurricane Katrina.

Sanctuary City dispute

Federal officials have repeatedly criticized New Orleans for what they describe as sanctuary-style policies.

McLaughlin argued:“Sanctuary policies endanger American communities by releasing illegal criminal aliens.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi also accused the city of undermining enforcement. The Department of Justice includes New Orleans on its list of 18 sanctuary jurisdictions.

City officials strongly reject those claims. Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick has insisted immigration matters fall outside local policing:“Immigration enforcement is a civil matter outside my jurisdiction.”

Massive multi-agency deployment

Exact numbers of federal agents in New Orleans remain unclear, but planning documents show a monthslong crackdown covering southeast Louisiana and Mississippi, led by aggressive border enforcement commander Gregory Bovino.

The plan aims to arrest 5,000 people.

Governor Landry also said he expects National Guard troops to arrive before Christmas to support crime-fighting efforts.

Louisiana State Police and the FBI said they will work jointly to protect federal officers and prevent attempts to obstruct enforcement actions.

Minneapolis–St. Paul deportation raids

The Trump administration has launched an immigration enforcement operation in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area, a senior law enforcement official told NBC News. The confirmation follows earlier reports that a sweep was planned in the region, home to one of the largest Somali communities in the United States.

Trump targets Somali community

The enforcement effort comes one day after President Donald Trump delivered an incendiary attack against Minnesota's Somali population at the end of a Cabinet meeting.

“They should go back to where they came from,” Trump said, adding that Rep. Ilhan Omar, D–Minn., was“garbage.”

“I don't want them in our country,” he continued.“Somebody will say, 'Oh, that's not politically correct.' I don't care. I don't want them in our country. Their country is no good for a reason.”

Ilhan Omar responds

Congresswoman Omar addressed the remarks on X:“His obsession with me is creepy. I hope he gets the help he desperately needs,” she wrote.

Omar's family fled Somalia's civil war, spent years in a Kenyan refugee camp, and later immigrated to the US, where she eventually became a citizen and one of the first Somali-American members of Congress.

The Trump administration has paused immigration applications from 19 countries, including Somalia.

(With AP inputs)

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