New Orleans ICE Operation Unfolds as Immigration Arrests Surge, Jose Portillo-Gifaro

Federal agents chased and arrested a 57-year-old Honduran man in New Orleans as immigration arrests surge nationwide. ICE recorded 49,000 arrests in July, the highest monthly total in the data cited in an Oct. 24, 2026, account by The Times-Picayune | The Advocate.

Agents had watched a group of men near the Mardi Gras Truck Stop from dark-windowed SUVs. When their target approached a silver Honda, officers moved in. He ran across Elysian Fields Avenue, jumped a fence and crossed backyards in the 7th Ward before agents caught him in an abandoned lot.

At an ICE processing center in St. Charles Parish, Jose Portillo-Gifaro said: “They were only focused on me. I'm not sure why.” The chase lasted minutes.

Agents tracked one target before the chase began

The New Orleans ICE operation began with surveillance, then ended in a street arrest. The account describes agents watching their target before he moved toward his car; it does not identify a specific statute or legal authority used in his arrest.

The arrest came amid a broader shift in enforcement tactics described by officials and attorneys. Earlier Border Patrol-led sweeps drew attention as agents made arrests at construction sites, home-improvement store parking lots and other public places. U.S. citizens and green card holders, including people in New Orleans, were detained during those operations.

After federal agents killed two protesters in Minnesota, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin promised a less-visible approach with bigger results. Agents now make more individual arrests, including during traffic stops and before dawn. Hundreds have also been arrested at airports, and immigration judges have issued scores of deportation orders after last-minute hearings.

Brian Acuna, a senior official in ICE's New Orleans Field Office who leads arrest operations across five southern states, described the resources behind the operations.

“There is more time and more resources, and a lot of officers involved in (these operations),” Acuna said. “One at a time adds up.”

The arrest figures have risen alongside an agency hiring surge, increased federal funding and the deputizing of hundreds of local officers as immigration agents. Monthly arrests under former President Joe Biden typically numbered around 10,000, according to the Deportation Data Project.

Immigration lawyer Jeremy Jong said local police cameras and license plate readers can help ICE locate people. “Arrest numbers are going up because cities and states are getting bullied into cooperating with ICE,” said Jong, who is based in New Orleans.

The five-state ICE region recorded more than 45,000 arrests

The New Orleans ICE office covers Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee. ICE records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request were compared with U.S. Census Bureau population data for noncitizen immigrants, the group the administration says it intends to target.

From January 2025 to early August 2026, the region recorded more than 45,000 arrests, or about 670 for every 10,000 noncitizen immigrants. Only the San Antonio, Texas, office had a higher rate relative to that population.

Louisiana recorded 690 arrests in June and 800 the following month. In December, when Border Patrol agents flooded the state, there were 643 statewide arrests.

Arrests apparently made in communities, including on streets, at homes or at workplaces, occurred at similar rates in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama when measured against each state's noncitizen immigrant population. But Alabama and Mississippi transferred people from local law enforcement custody to ICE at roughly three to four times Louisiana's rate. Most of those transfers came from county jails.

Mississippi had more than 4,800 arrests. Its enforcement was spread across more communities and relied more heavily on county sheriff partnerships, while Louisiana arrests generally clustered in its largest metro areas.

Immigration court calendars drew hundreds to New Orleans

Dale Ross, a volunteer court watcher, said a typical day at New Orleans Immigration Court used to bring about 20 people before a judge. The court occupies the fifth floor of One Canal Place Office Tower at the end of Canal Street. Watchers now see numbers closer to hundreds.

More than 200 people were scheduled for hearings on June 1. The docket passed 250 the next day. Most were master calendar hearings, which often set later court dates as someone begins a case to remain in the United States.

Advocates and lawyers said many people traveled and waited for hours to confirm their mailing address. Some came from other states, Ross said.

“Some people came from other states. One guy came from Georgia, one guy came from New Jersey,” Ross said. “And all they were doing was checking their addresses and then letting them go.”

Missing a hearing or arriving too late can result in an automatic deportation order. One court watcher said a mother nearly was marked absent after briefly leaving to take her child to the restroom. Advocates warn that crowded calendars may precede deportations of people already participating in immigration proceedings.

ICE separately announced three arrests in a Tennessee investigation

ICE New Orleans arrested three Guatemalan nationals in Knoxville, Tennessee, in an investigation into alleged use of stolen identities and Social Security numbers. The inquiry began Aug. 4. All three had final orders of removal.

Acting Field Office Director Scott Ladwig said: “These crimes have real victims.” He said identity theft and fraudulent documents can harm victims, workers and businesses.

ICE said Magdalena Gomez-Garcia allegedly used the identity of a New York resident to work for a local employer beginning in February 2026. Wages were credited to the victim's record, requiring her to repeatedly contact officials to remove the earnings. Gomez-Garcia had been encountered by U.S. Border Patrol near San Luis, Arizona, on July 10, 2018. An immigration judge issued a final removal order in absentia on April 24, 2019.

ICE said Elias Gomez-Garcia was removed in 2009, then again in 2011 and 2018. His criminal history includes local traffic arrests in Kentucky and South Carolina. Eulalia Ordonez-Carmelo was encountered near the Rio Grande Valley in 2022, issued a Notice to Appear and released on her own recognizance. An immigration judge ordered her removed on Feb. 27, 2023.

The agency said additional charges may follow. ICE listed an online reporting form and its anonymous tip line, (866) 347-2423, for immigration-related crimes.