DHS targets Vietnamese community in New Orleans

A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) immigration enforcement operation in New Orleans has arrested Vietnamese immigrants alongside other undocumented residents, sending fear through communities that rebuilt their lives in the city after fleeing the Vietnam War five decades ago.

What happened: Operation Catahoula Crunch, which began on Dec. 4, aims for 5,000 arrests in two months. Agents reportedly conducted arrests at home improvement stores, restaurants and construction sites, including pulling roofers from a job in Kenner, west of New Orleans. Among those arrested were two Vietnamese nationals: Binh Van To, who was convicted of robbery, aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, kidnapping, homicide and aggravated assault, and Hung Ngoc Tran, who was issued a final removal order in 2010 after convictions for sexual assault, larceny and fondling a child.

The operation, part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown on Democrat-led sanctuary cities, follows similar moves in Chicago and Los Angeles. Louisiana correctional facilities now hold between 7,000 and 8,000 immigration detainees, more than any state except Texas.

What this means: While the operation also targets Hispanic and other immigrant communities, Vietnamese Americans face a unique historical impact given their refugee status and decades of cultural and economic contributions to the city. Thousands arrived in New Orleans as refugees following the 1975 Fall of Saigon, and they now make up the largest Asian ancestry group in the metro area at more than 17,000 people as of 2020.

Resident Thi Bui, who immigrated to the U.S. as a 3-year-old, called the crackdown a betrayal. “The folks who came here in the 70s were allies of the U.S. in a proxy war,” she told Scripps News earlier this week. “They rebuilt their lives from scratch, and now this is their home. It’s been over 50 years that the Vietnamese have been in the U.S. and in New Orleans.”

What authorities are saying: DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin defended the operation in a statement, saying, “Americans should be able to live without fear of violent criminal illegal aliens harming them, their families, or their neighbors.” House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana also backed the effort, writing that sanctuary city policies “have failed — making our American communities dangerous.”

Rachel Taber of immigration advocacy group Union Migrante, however, disputed claims that only criminals were being targeted. “They were roofers working hard today. They were people standing on the corner of Home Depot for an honest day pay,” she told WVUE. Federal data compiled by Syracuse University shows 71.5% of nearly 60,000 people in ICE detention as of Sept. 21 had no criminal convictions, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The operation continued this week, with streets and businesses remaining empty in areas with large Vietnamese and Hispanic populations.