Photo: Alamy
The Trump administration is deploying 350 National Guard troops to New Orleans ahead of the New Year, launching another federal security operation in the city as an immigration crackdown led by U.S. Border Patrol continues.
Department of War spokesman Sean Parnell said Tuesday the Guard members will support federal law enforcement agencies, including the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. Parnell said the troops are expected to remain deployed through February.
Republican Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry praised President Donald Trump and War Secretary Pete Hegseth for coordinating the deployment and said the Guard’s presence would help address public safety concerns.
“It’s going to help us further crack down on the violence here in the city of New Orleans and elsewhere around Louisiana,” Landry said. “And so, a big shoutout to both of them.”
The Guard deployment to the Democrat-led city comes as Border Patrol agents have conducted an immigration enforcement operation since the start of the month. The Department of Homeland Security said several hundred people have been arrested during the first weeks of the effort, which is expected to last months and has a stated goal of 5,000 arrests.
In September, Landry asked Trump to send 1,000 federally funded troops to Louisiana cities, citing concerns about crime. He has also praised the administration for similar deployments to cities such as Washington, D.C., and Memphis, Tennessee.
New Orleans has been on pace for much of the year to record its lowest number of murders in decades, according to preliminary police data. The city had recorded 97 homicides in 2025 as of Nov. 1, including 14 people killed on New Year’s Day during a truck attack on Bourbon Street.
Authorities said a U.S. Army veteran driving a pickup truck bearing the flag of the Islamic State group carried out the New Year’s Day attack, steering around a police blockade and plowing into revelers before being shot and killed by officers. The city recorded 124 homicides last year and 193 in 2023, according to police figures.