Anti-ICE protesters storm New Orleans council meeting, creating chaos as officials flee and police remove demonstrators opposing federal enforcement.

"They’re not focusing on particular people, they're focusing on particular traits," said attorney Homero López, a former immigration judge. "Those traits tend to be physical in nature.”

The operations were launched a day after President Donald Trump said he’d be sending National Guard troops to New Orleans and disparaged Somali immigrants in Minneapolis.

More than 200 federal agents are expected to begin fanning out across New Orleans on Wednesday after the Department of Homeland Security announced the start of an immigration crackdown dubbed Operation Catahoula Crunch.

It is unclear how long the effort will last in Louisiana, where the Republican governor has welcomed the agents with open arms even as immigrant communities fear what might come.

Dozens of people protesting a federal immigration enforcement operation in New Orleans, which entered its second day, were forcefully removed from a City Council meeting Thursday.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that National Guard troops will soon head to New Orleans and bring another federal surge to the city that is already awaiting a separate immigration crackdown dubbed "Swamp Sweep" that is expected to begin this week.