The Department of Homeland Security plans an operation called Swamp Sweep, deploying about 250 federal border agents to Louisiana and Mississippi in early December to target roughly 5,000 arrests. Agents will stage in New Orleans and operate across neighborhoods and commercial corridors from New Orleans to Baton Rouge. DHS declined to comment; local officials, including the New Orleans Police Superintendent, are meeting with Border Patrol representatives to discuss coordination. The move follows other recent federal deployments as part of an intensified national immigration enforcement effort.
DHS to Launch 'Swamp Sweep': 250 Border Agents to Deploy Across Louisiana and Mississippi
The Department of Homeland Security plans an operation called Swamp Sweep, deploying about 250 federal border agents to Louisiana and Mississippi in early December to target roughly 5,000 arrests. Agents will stage in New Orleans and operate across neighborhoods and commercial corridors from New Orleans to Baton Rouge. DHS declined to comment; local officials, including the New Orleans Police Superintendent, are meeting with Border Patrol representatives to discuss coordination. The move follows other recent federal deployments as part of an intensified national immigration enforcement effort.
11:32 AM, 11/19/2025Security
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security plans to deploy about 250 federal border agents to Louisiana and Mississippi in an operation called "Swamp Sweep" that is expected to begin in early December. Officials say the initiative aims to identify and arrest roughly 5,000 people across southeastern sections of both states.
Agents are expected to stage vehicles and equipment in New Orleans before dispersing into neighborhoods and commercial corridors. Deployment areas are anticipated to extend from New Orleans through Jefferson, St. Bernard and St. Tammany parishes and reach as far north as Baton Rouge.
The Department of Homeland Security declined to comment on operational details. Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin described the activity as part of routine enforcement:
"Every day, DHS enforces the laws of the nation across the country."
Representatives for Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry and Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The New Orleans Police Department said its Superintendent, Anne Kirkpatrick, will meet this week with U.S. Border Patrol representatives to discuss the deployment and local coordination.
This expansion into Louisiana and Mississippi comes amid a broader, intensified immigration-enforcement campaign by the current administration. Federal immigration officers have previously been sent to other major U.S. cities, and administration officials have signaled plans to increase operations in additional locations, including New York City.
Tom Homan, who has served as a senior federal immigration official, told media that further enforcement operations are being planned for other cities.
Operation scope and local impact: Organizers say the focus will be on neighborhoods and busy commercial corridors rather than single-site sweeps; local leaders and law enforcement officials are expected to meet with federal agents to clarify logistics and community safeguards before the operation begins.
Reported by Jasper Ward; Edited by Scott Malone and Sonali Paul.