Trump approves deployment of 350 national guard members to New Orleans | New Orleans

The Trump administration is deploying 350 National Guard troops to New Orleans ahead of the new year and launching another federal deployment to the city as the Border Patrol-led crackdown on immigrants continues.

The security guards, like other posts in major cities, will be assigned to support federal law enforcement partners, including the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Tuesday. Parnell added that national guard troops will be deployed until February.

Republican Louisiana governor Jeff Landry praised Donald Trump and U.S. defense secretary Pete Hegseth for coordinating the deployment and predicted the guard’s presence would have a positive impact. “This will help us further reduce violence in the city of New Orleans and elsewhere in Louisiana,” Landry said during an appearance on The Will Cain Show on Fox News. “And a big thank you to both of them.”

Critics argue that the deployment of the national guard is unwarranted and could cause fear in the community, noting that New Orleans has actually seen a decline in violent crime rates.

The deployment of the National Guard to the Democratic-led city comes as Border Patrol agents have been cracking down on immigrants since the beginning of the month. Agents arrested several hundred people in the first few weeks of the operation, which is expected to last months with a goal of arresting 5,000 people, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

In September, Landry asked Trump to send 1,000 federally funded troops to Louisiana cities, citing crime concerns. Landry praised Trump for sending troops to other cities, including Washington D.C. and Memphis, Tennessee.

He also viewed Mayor Landry favorably. Trump announced Sunday that he had appointed the governor to serve as his special envoy to Greenland, a strategic, vast and semi-autonomous region of Denmark that Trump has said the United States should take over.

New Orleans has been experiencing its lowest number of homicides in decades for much of the year, according to preliminary data from the city’s police department. In 2025, as of November 1, there have been 97 murders; including the 14 revelers killed in the truck attack on Bourbon Street on New Year’s Day.

A US army veteran driving a pickup truck flying the flag of the Islamic State group sparked carnage at New Orleans’ raucous New Year’s celebration when he drove around a police blockade and crashed into revelers before being shot dead by police.

According to city figures, there were 124 murders last year and 193 in 2023. Armed robberies, aggravated assaults, carjackings, shootings and property crimes also trended downward.

New Orleans is no stranger to having the national guard in the city. Following the truck attack on New Year’s Eve in January, 100 security guards were sent to the city to assist with security measures. Guard members were also present at major events in the city this year, such as the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras.