New Orleans marches in pouring rain against Operation “Swamp Sweep”
New Orleans, LA – On Monday, December 1, 100 people rallied in Lafayette Square and marched to City Hall in the pouring rain to oppose Trump’s latest assault on immigrants in Louisiana, dubbed Operation “Swamp Sweep.”
December 1 marked the first day of Swamp Sweep, an anti-immigrant operation that has sent 250 federal agents to Louisiana – specifically to New Orleans and surrounding areas – attempting to make 5000 arrests. This operation mirrors similar federal deployments in cities such as Washington D.C., Memphis and Charlotte. Like other cities, New Orleans showed up to resist the crackdown.
The protest began with a rally featuring speakers from several organizations that are a part of an ad-hoc No Trump, No Troops coalition leading the way in the fight against federal occupation in the city.
“As a New Orleans resident it is my duty to stand up for my undocumented brothers and sisters to fight this terror that is coming down on them right before the holidays. I’ll be damned to have these families broken up in my own city!” said Anthony Franklin, a member of Students for a Democratic Society. Franklin drew direct comparisons between the federal occupation of ICE, Border Patrol, and the National Guard in New Orleans today and repression by the National Guard in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, stating, “We didn’t need the National Guard then, and we don’t need them now!”
“We know who helped us after Katrina. It was not the cops, it was not the National Guard, it was the immigrants who helped build back this city,” stated Blu DiMarco of the Queer and Trans Community Action Project.
“They’re here and they think they think they can defeat us – and they’re dead wrong!” said a speaker from Southeast Dignity not Detention Coalition. “We’re not going to let them treat our homes like prisons. Keep showing up, and bring everybody you know!”
After the rally, the energized crowd took to the streets. As the rain poured down, protesters marched on toward the City Hall building. Chants such as “Chinga la migra!” and “No ICE, no KKK, no racist USA!” rang in the air as cars driving by honked in support.
At City Hall, Juleea Berthelot from the Freedom Road Socialist Organization emphasized the need to resist Governor Landry and Trump and keep the pressure on in the streets stating, “New Orleans belongs to us and we’re gonna fight like hell to keep it that way!” The crowd cheered in support.
At the conclusion of the protest, Toni Jones of the New Orleans Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression called on the crowd to show up and pack the city council chambers on the following Thursday, December 4. “We will come here to demand that New Orleans do everything possible to protect immigrants and to fight back against Trump’s racist agenda,” said Jones.