US federal agents hit New Orleans amid Trump's immigration crackdown
發佈日期: 2025-12-04 22:23
TVB News
Federal agents began hitting the streets of New Orleans as US President Donald Trump's administration continues its latest immigration crackdown looking to round up immigrants accused of violent crimes.
Meanwhile Trump doubled down on his comments on Somali immigrants living in the US.
Masked agents patrolled a heavily Hispanic New Orleans suburb in marked and unmarked vehicles.
There are more than 200 Customs and Border Protection and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials working on the New Orleans operation, according to a US official who was not authorised to discuss the matter publicly.
The official said the objective is to make as many arrests as possible over at least 60 days.
US Homeland Security Department Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the New Orleans operation is targeting immigrants who were released after arrests for crimes such as home invasion, armed robbery and rape.
Another operation is expected soon in Minnesota, targeting Somali immigrants.
The enforcement tactics have been met with protests and lawsuits.
Meanwhile, Trump doubled down Wednesday on earlier comments he made about Somali immigrants living in the US, saying, "they've destroyed our country."
"Look how bad the nation is. It's not even a nation. It's just a, people walking around killing each other. Look, these Somalians have taken billions of dollars out of our country. They've taken billions and billions of dollars. They have a representative, Ilhan Omar, who they say married her brother. It's a fraud. She tries to deny it now, but you can't really deny it because, you know, just happened."
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said the US President repeatedly slamming Somali immigrants "violates the moral fabric of what we stand by in the country as Americans."
Trump responded that Frey was a "fool."
The Minneapolis-St. Paul area is home to about 84,000 people of Somali descent, nearly one-third of the Somalis living in the U.S.
Refugees from the East African nation have been coming to the frigid plains of Minnesota since the 1990s, drawn by the state's generous social services and an ever-growing diaspora community.
The president's comment came days after his administration announced it is halting all asylum decisions following the shooting of two US National Guard soldiers in Washington.
The suspect is originally from Afghanistan but Trump has used the moment to raise questions about immigrants from other nations, including Somalia.
