The Trump administration plans to further expand the presence of immigration agents in American cities, deploying the U.S. Border Patrol to Charlotte, N.C., and New Orleans, according to a government document and a federal official with knowledge of the plan.
Plans for the operations were still being finalized, the official said, and federal agents will maintain a presence in the Chicago area. A two-month enforcement blitz there has led to thousands of arrests and frequent confrontations between residents and federal agents. Border Patrol agents at times used force, including tear gas and pepper spray. On Saturday, some were shot at by an unknown assailant, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Last week, a federal judge in Illinois, Sara L. Ellis, restricted the Border Patrol’s use of crowd-control weapons, saying, “The use of force shocks the conscience.” She also ordered agents to wear body cameras.
In response to questions on Tuesday about the planning for operations in Charlotte and New Orleans, Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary at the agency, said she could not discuss “future or potential operations.” She added, “Every day, D.H.S. enforces the laws of the nation across the country.”
On Tuesday, officials in New Orleans and Charlotte did not respond to requests for comment on the potential deployments. President Trump has repeatedly indicated that he plans to establish a federal presence in New Orleans, citing “a crime problem,” and Louisiana’s Republican governor, Jeff Landry, has asked him to deploy the National Guard in the state.
The brutal killing in August of Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old riding a light rail train in Charlotte, inflamed conservatives, who cited the episode as a prime example of disorder in Democratic-run cities.
In Charlotte, violent crime has decreased by 20 percent since last year, according to the police department.
Crime rates have also declined significantly in New Orleans over the past several years.
Eduardo Medina contributed reporting
Dana Goldstein covers education and families for The Times.
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