Several Louisiana groups have teamed up to create a campaign they say is aimed at countering the current federal immigration operation happening in New Orleans now.
According to a release, the "Free the Swamp" campaign calls the Department of Homeland Security's Operation Catahoula Crunch "racist and dangerous" and is urging New Orleanians to "stay alert and be prepared to protect their neighbors."
To read our stories about the operation, click here and here.
“When the federal government launches an operation like ‘Catahoula Crunch,’ it is not just a name, it is a message,” said NAACP Louisiana State Conference, PAC Chair Tia Fields. “The Catahoula is not just Louisiana’s state dog; it was bred for hunting, herding, and tracking, tools once used by bounty hunters and slave patrols. To resurrect that imagery in an immigration sweep aimed at Black and Brown communities is not coincidence. It is continuity. Whether they call it ‘Catahoula Crunch’ or ‘Swamp Sweep,’ the language may change, but the impact does not. These are federal enforcement actions that disproportionately target communities of color, dressed up as public safety. Louisiana remembers its history, and we will not be fooled by familiar patterns in new packaging.”
According to the press release, the campaign members say the DHS release "included headshots and charges for a list of individuals they sought to portray as the reason for the operation even though the press release did not indicate that any of these individuals would be targeted by the operation. Campaign members warned that DHS is deploying racist Willie Horton style scare tactics to justify their campaigns of terror that have indiscriminately swept up children, U.S. citizens and people without any records of criminal activity."
“As someone who fled war and lost my own family to violence, I know what real danger looks like,” said Dauda Sesay, Founder and Executive Director of the Louisiana Organization for Refugees and Immigrants (LORI). “It does not look like a child walking to school or a parent driving to work. When you name a raid after a hunting dog and splash mugshots across the news to justify it, you are not protecting communities—you are sending a message that Black and Brown lives are expendable. We are calling on our neighbors of every race, faith, and political belief to stand together, to protect one another, and to EMBRACE LOVE over the politics of hate and humiliation.”
The release says that "similar operations in other cities have demonstrated their willingness to outright lie to the communities they terrorize. In Chicago, DHS purported to have arrested more than 1,000 people “including the worst of the worst pedophiles, child abusers, kidnappers, gang members, and armed robbers,” but could only provide verified criminal histories for 10 of the men arrested, just 1% of the people they detained. Outside of Austin, DHS arrested more than three dozen people under the guise of a targeted sting operation, but after months they couldn’t produce any evidence to prove those arrested had any gang ties."
Members of the Free the Swamp campaign say they are urging New Orleanians and those in the surrounding areas to "stay vigilant, look out for their neighbors, and be wary of DHS misinformation campaigns."
The campaign members also are offering a tip line at (504) 221-1499 to report "suspected DHS activity."
“Louisianans are no strangers to being the targets of aggressive tactics, mistreatment and trauma at the hands of a federal government that we should be able to trust. We have risen above multiple crises, from hurricanes to pandemics, consistently defying the odds, coming together, and protecting our own communities. We are organized, we are prepared, and ICE and no scare tactics or intimidation will stop us from showing up to exercise our collective power and keep our loved ones and our neighbors safe," said Angelle Bradford Rosenberg, Chapter Chair with Sierra Club Delta Chapter.
According to the release, the "Free the Swamp" campaign "was created by members of the Liberty and Dignity Coalition and grassroots groups from across the state to oppose the militarization and federalization of Louisiana, specifically the deployment of ICE, Border Patrol, and National Guard troops. The campaign was created by organizations whose primary areas of focus include defending constitutional law, stopping the overpolicing of Black and brown and low income communities, criminal justice reform, racial justice, addressing homelessness, advancing immigrant rights, mutual aid, and public policy. Our broad base brings the resources and expertise of local, state, and national partners to bear in supporting emerging needs and guiding cooperative action."
