WASHINGTON, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Federal authorities began a law enforcement operation on Wednesday targeting people living in New Orleans illegally, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said as the Trump administration continues its city-to-city immigration crackdown.
The operation's "targets include violent criminals who were released after arrest for home invasion, armed robbery, grand theft auto, and rape," Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
The scope of the New Orleans operation was not clear although it had previously been expected to run through the end of the year with a slowdown around Christmas.
President Donald Trump said during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday that the National Guard would be deployed to the southern city in a couple of weeks.
New Orleans, with a population of around 384,000, would be the latest city with a Democratic mayor targeted in Trump's mass deportation push.
Since the summer, federal immigration officials have surged resources to Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C., sparking criticism over aggressive tactics and arrests of people who had not committed a crime.
The action in New Orleans follows an operation in Charlotte, North Carolina.
(Reporting by Katharine Jackson and Ted Hesson; Editing by Doina Chiacu)
