A New Orleans city council meeting spiraled into turmoil on Thursday as activists opposing ICE barged into the session, vociferously confronting officials and engaging in clashes with law enforcement over the initiation of a significant federal immigration crackdown across southeast Louisiana.

This uproar followed the previous day’s announcement by the Department of Homeland Security regarding “Operation Catahoula Crunch.” This two-month federal campaign involves deploying 250 Border Patrol agents throughout New Orleans and its vicinity. Protesters, who have dubbed the initiative “Swamp Sweep,” have expressed heightened opposition, inciting increasing tension at city hall.

Gathering outside the City Hall at approximately 9:30 a.m., protesters brandished signs, chanted through loudspeakers, and vocally condemned the operation. As officers later permitted them entry into the council chambers, the situation quickly intensified.

A number of demonstrators approached the podium, seeking to voice their concerns, only to be interrupted by council members who deemed their comments irrelevant to the agenda. This prompted a chorus of disapproval, with cries of “Shame!” and “Coward!” reverberating through the chamber. The meeting was abruptly halted as council members exited, leaving the protesters in control of the room.

Demonstrators against ICE and Border Patrol were escorted out by New Orleans Police Department officers after causing a disruption at a council meeting in City Hall, New Orleans, Louisiana, on December 4, 2025. (Adam GRAY / AFP via Getty Images)

Roughly 30 to 40 protesters refused to comply with repeated police orders to leave. Officers began escorting people out, and in one heated moment, an officer physically lifted a protester and carried him from the chamber as others screamed in outrage.

“Shame on you! He’s a peaceful protester!” one woman yelled. “You don’t drag people out like that — it’s criminal!”

Another protester confronted officers near the chamber doors, yelling, “Our people are under attack and you drag him out? Who do you work for?”

New Orleans police officers carry a man out of city hall after he participated in a protest against the deployment of federal agents in the city during a city council meeting on Dec. 4, 2025, in New Orleans, Louisiana.  (Ryan Murphy/Getty Images)

Outside the barricades, activists flipped off officers and shouted obscenities while police held their positions behind a metal gate. As of Thursday afternoon, no arrests or detentions had been reported.

Inside the chamber, protesters broke into a sustained chant, shouting, “No ICE! No KKK! No racist USA!”

The Department of Homeland Security says Operation Catahoula Crunch is aimed at removing “criminal illegal aliens roaming free thanks to sanctuary policies” that prevent local authorities from honoring ICE arrest detainers.

WATCH: Anti-ICE protesters dragged out of New Orleans City Hall

In a sharply worded statement, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said sanctuary policies “endanger American communities by releasing illegal criminal aliens and forcing DHS law enforcement to risk their lives to remove criminal illegal aliens that should have never been put back on the streets.”

She continued, saying it was “asinine that these monsters were released back onto New Orleans streets to COMMIT MORE CRIMES and create more victims.”

McLaughlin also emphasized that Operation Catahoula Crunch is focused on offenders she described as “violent criminals who were released after arrest for home invasion, armed robbery, grand theft auto, and rape,” adding that “under President Trump and Secretary Noem, we are restoring law and order for the American people.”

Thursday’s confrontation came after a Monday demonstration outside City Hall, where dozens gathered to oppose the impending sweep. According to local outlet WWNO, Monday’s event featured emotional speeches accusing DHS of retraumatizing immigrant communities.

One demonstrator told the crowd that “we were hurting, we were abandoned and instead of help, we got soldiers with rifles,” adding that the community needs “housing, health care, real jobs, not soldiers.”

Another protester grew emotional while shouting about a deceased family member, saying, “You can’t crush the flame of someone who’s already gone.”

Organizers on Monday accused federal authorities and local police of “targeting vulnerable communities” and vowed to continue demonstrating “for as long as Operation Swamp Sweep remains in effect.” 

WWNO reported that Monday’s event was organized by the New Orleans Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, with support from Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Indivisible NOLA, Union Migrante and others.

DHS has given no end date beyond confirming the operation is expected to run for roughly two months.

Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.