New Orleans does not want or need a mass immigration-enforcement operation. Recent events in Chicago and Charlotte show how these operations spread fear and chaos without making communities safer. When residents feel hunted, trust in public institutions collapses, and nobody is more vulnerable than children, workers, and families trying to live peaceful lives.
Raids at daycares, schools, hospitals, worksites, and public spaces only push people into the shadows. Victims and witnesses stop reporting crimes because they fear detention. Parents keep kids home. Workers disappear from job sites. Courts, classrooms, and businesses suffer. Nothing about this promotes public safety.
And here in Louisiana, one of the most alarming issues is the complete lack of coordination from federal officials. Local law enforcement, city leadership, and state agencies have not been given clear communication, advance notice, or operational plans. As NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick told the media not long before ICE personnel arrived here in large numbers. “Yes, I am expecting them to come. But can I tell you they’re coming Friday? No, I can’t tell you that.”
When federal agents enter communities without engaging local stakeholders, they undermine public safety rather than support it. Schools cannot prepare. Police cannot divert resources. Hospitals and courts cannot plan for family disruptions. That silence fuels chaos.
That chaos has real consequences in our workforce. In Lafayette Parish, a roofing contractor described how one of his workers was detained at a job site, leaving the rest of his crew too afraid to return to work. These workers were literally building homes for our communities. Raids like that make it impossible for businesses to function and leave work crews without essential and highly skilled immigrant workers, the contractor told local reporters. Immigrants make up about 6% of Louisiana’s labor force and nearly 16% of our construction workforce.
Hotels, restaurants, seafood processors, port operators, and tourism businesses depend heavily on immigrant workers. Many of these employers supported the current administration. Now they are experiencing an uncomfortable truth: policies they voted for are targeting the very workers they rely on every day.
New Orleans is also a city that runs on the service industry. Our hotels, restaurants, music venues, festivals, and hospitality economy depend daily on workers who come from every corner of the world. Immigrant workers keep this city moving, keep our businesses open, and keep our culture alive. When they are afraid to work or unable to show up, the economic impact hits every neighborhood and every employer.
And we should never forget that immigrant labor played a major role in rebuilding New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. When the city was in ruins, immigrant workers arrived by the thousands to gut homes, repair roofs, clear debris, rebuild schools, and help restore infrastructure. Many of the neighborhoods that define this city today would not exist without their labor. New Orleans came back because immigrants helped bring it back.
Local business owners, including many who identify as conservative, are confronting a contradiction. Work crews shrink. Deadlines slip. Costs rise. Federal enforcement actions have already hit Louisiana’s industrial sector. Eleven workers at the Port of Lake Charles were detained while working for contractors, and port officials stressed that companies must take responsibility for employment authorization. Law firms across Louisiana are warning employers that any business hiring workers without authorization is at heightened risk, even if federal agencies refuse to coordinate or give advance notice.
That strain moves through the New Orleans economy quickly. Our city depends on steady labor in hospitality, construction, tourism, and port operations. When workers are too afraid to show up, projects stall and businesses falter. When parents are detained without warning, families are thrown into crisis. When federal agencies refuse to communicate with local leaders, neighborhoods retreat into fear and rumors.
We should be clear: claims that these efforts focus on people with serious criminal records do not match reality. In one recent month nationwide, 93% of individuals detained by ICE had no violent criminal history. Many were following legal processes, including attending scheduled court hearings where agents waited to arrest them. This does nothing to advance public safety. It only deepens mistrust.
New Orleans leaders, business owners, and residents must speak honestly about what is at stake. A mass enforcement operation would not simply harm undocumented residents. It would disrupt entire industries, destabilize families, and undermine confidence in government at every level. And because federal agencies are withholding communication from local officials, the risks to public safety are even greater.
Most of all, it would betray our values.
New Orleans has always welcomed people from around the world. Our culture, food, music, and economy are built on contributions from generations of immigrants. That legacy continues every day in kitchens, job sites, classrooms, and corner stores.
Fear in our community is rapidly spreading. It is the responsibility of all city and state officials to clearly and forcefully condemn this operation. Leaders who fail to do so should be held accountable by all Louisianans.Safety requires communication, trust, predictability, and fairness, not surprise raids, family separations, or disruptions to our economy.
New Orleans cherishes its immigrant community. We owe them safety, dignity, and the assurance that this city will stand with them. What is happening across the country cannot become our reality.
Royce Duplessis is the state senator for Louisiana District 5.
