As the first week of an intensified immigration enforcement crackdown in southeast Louisiana came to an end, U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials remain tight-lipped about how many apprehensions federal agents have made to achieve their goal of 5,000 arrests, based on plans reviewed by the Associated Press in November, during the operation.
While offering little information about the overall operation, which began last Wednesday (Dec. 3) with a series of raids at major home improvement stores, the DHS press office in a Monday press release praised federal agents for apprehending “rapists, thieves, gang members, human smugglers, and abusers” in the operation, dubbed “Catahoula Crunch.” The department highlighted eight immigrants originating from Latin America, most of whom were from Honduras, that it said had serious or violent criminal records ranging including domestic battery and domestic abuse.
However, less than a third of the 38 people who were arrested in the first two days of the operation appeared to have criminal records, according to records that the AP reviewed, which also showed operation leaders are monitoring social media accounts for threats to agents and indications of public sentiment…