DHS ‘Swamp Sweep’ operation aims for nearly 5K arrests in Louisiana, Mississippi

The Department of Homeland Security is preparing to deploy roughly 250 federal border agents to Louisiana and Mississippi in a sweeping operation aimed at arresting nearly 5,000 people in the two states, The Associated Press reported Tuesday, citing internal documents and people familiar with the operation.

The two-month immigration initiative, dubbed “Swamp Sweep,” is expected to begin Dec. 1 and will center heavily on southeastern Louisiana, according to the report. The crackdown marks one of the largest single-state deployments of immigration authorities under the Trump administration to date.

Agents are expected to start arriving in New Orleans on Friday to position equipment, vehicles and other logistics before fanning out into communities across Louisiana. Operations will stretch from New Orleans through Jefferson, St. Bernard and St. Tammany parishes, reaching north toward Baton Rouge, The AP said. Additional enforcement is being planned in southeastern Mississippi, though details remain limited.

DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

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“For the safety and security of law enforcement we’re not going to telegraph potential operations,” spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told the outlet.

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Spokespeople for Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves — both Republicans who have previously backed President Donald Trump and his agenda — also did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital. 

Reeves announced in August that he “approved the deployment of approximately 200 Mississippi National Guard Soldiers to Washington, D.C., to support President Trump’s effort to return law and order to our nation’s capital.” 

In May, Landry similarly touted a partnership with “the federal government to crack down on criminal illegal aliens in the great State of Louisiana.”

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The expansion into Louisiana and Mississippi comes as the Trump administration accelerates its nationwide immigration enforcement strategy. Federal immigration officers have already been sent to major cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago and, most recently, Charlotte, North Carolina.

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Trump’s Border Czar Tom Homan told Fox News earlier Tuesday that additional operations are being prepared for New York City, signaling the crackdown is poised to widen even further in the weeks ahead.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.