New Orleans leaders blast immigration crackdown, point to video of agents chasing US citizens

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The mayor-elect of New Orleans said Friday that the federal immigration crackdown that began this week is already causing harm as encounters between masked agents and residents, some captured on video, have spurred a public backlash in the Blue City.

Frustrated city officials point to the case of Jacelyn Guzman, a 23-year-old U.S. citizen who was returning to her Louisiana home from a trip to the grocery store on Wednesday when a truck pulled up next to her and two masked federal agents approached her, according to security footage obtained by The Associated Press.

When the second vehicle arrived, Guzman began to flee and agents chased him down sidewalks through downtown New Orleans until he reached his family’s home in Marrero, along the Mississippi River. Guzmán’s mother spent her entire life there.

“We’re legal, we’re from here, born and raised,” Guzman yelled at the agents. “Don’t play me, it’s disgusting.”

Guzman, who has no criminal record, told the AP that she was scared when the agents arrived.

“My only thought was that they were going to take me and I had no say in that decision,” Guzman said. “Because they probably didn’t care that I said I was an American citizen. So why should they care what else I had to say?”

Hundreds of agents, led by Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, converged on southeast Louisiana this week as part of an immigration enforcement operation seeking to arrest 5,000 people. The Department of Homeland Security has released only limited details of the dozens of arrests. Many Hispanic residents said they felt their community was at risk of being harassed or detained by agents regardless of their legal status.

Along with City Council members, Democratic Congressman Troy Carter, Hispanic leaders and civil rights advocates, Mayor-elect Helena Moreno expressed “deep concern over recent actions” by federal agents. She said the operation was taking a toll — forcing businesses to shutter and workers to stay home for fear of mass arrests.

While federal officials have repeatedly said the goal of the operation is to target dangerous criminals who entered the country illegally, Moreno argued “it doesn’t seem that way.”

Moreno said she is asking for regular public briefings from federal agencies, which she said would include data on stops, detentions, charges, warrants, outcomes and if any of those detained have violent criminal histories.

“Without this complete visibility into these enforcement actions, it is impossible to determine whether this particular operation is actually targeting the most dangerous criminals,” Moreno said.

Guzman’s stepfather, Juan Anglin, said he understood what federal agents had to do but believed they were going about it the wrong way.

Anglin heard his stepdaughter screaming outside and went outside to confront the agents. He told the AP that Guzman fled from agents because she was a young woman surrounded by aggressive masked men.

“I thought she was going to be kidnapped, honestly,” Anglin said. “I thought someone was going to hurt him.”

In response to the incident, the Department of Homeland Security said the Border Patrol was “searching for a felony illegal alien previously charged with felony theft and convicted of illegal possession of stolen property.”

DHS said agents “encountered a woman matching the description of the target” and that the agents “identified themselves” and left after realizing Guzman was not the person they were looking for.

Anglin disputes the government’s story and says she was stopped simply because of her appearance.

“Just because you look brown, you look Hispanic, you’re not going to get stopped,” he said. “Because now it doesn’t matter if you have a document, you speak English or you are a citizen, it’s not enough.”

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Sarah Klein contributed reporting from Baton Rouge.

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Brooke is a corps member for reports for the Associated Press/America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that lets journalists report on issues hidden in local newsrooms.