NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A new recruit with the New Orleans Police Department has been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has accused the city of violating federal immigration law, but the agency denies wrongdoing.
Federal agents last month arrested New Orleans police recruit Larry Temah, a 46-year-old Cameroonian national who received a final deportation order signed by an immigration judge in December, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Tema remains in custody and awaits deportation.
Tema was attending the police academy when he was detained and was still months away from graduating. He entered the United States on a valid visitor visa in 2015 and obtained conditional residency in 2016 after marrying a U.S. citizen. In 2022, his application for permanent residence was “denied due to fraud,” according to the Department of Homeland Security.
“Illegal alien crimes have no place in our communities, especially within our police forces,” Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said Tuesday.
But New Orleans Police Department spokesman Reese Harper said Tuesday that Homeland Security made “misleading” statements about Tema’s case. He said the department had confirmed Termacher’s employment eligibility through the Department of Homeland Security Verification System and did not receive notification that ICE was seeking to detain Termacher until the day of Termacher’s arrest.
“New Orleans is not a sanctuary city,” Harper said. “Any claim that the NOPD knowingly broke the law is false.”
Harper said the NOPD did not give Termacher a gun because he was still completing his studies at the police academy.
The conflict between the city and federal authorities erupted in the wake of Operation Catahoula Crunch, a massive immigration crackdown centered on New Orleans launched in December. The operation appeared to be paused in early January after federal agents were transferred to Minneapolis.
President Donald Trump’s administration has repeatedly accused New Orleans of undermining federal immigration enforcement, and Louisiana has passed legislation seeking to force the city to cooperate with ICE. The New Orleans Police Department said immigration enforcement is a civil matter and does not fall within its jurisdiction.
Chief Executive Anne Kirkpatrick told reporters last week that no issues related to Termacher’s legal status arose during the hiring process. She added that Tema had lived in the United States for at least 10 years, had a valid driver’s license and Social Security card, and had no criminal record.
“We conducted our due diligence,” Kirkpatrick said at a Jan. 28 news conference.
The Department of Homeland Security directed The Associated Press to its press release. The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment about why Temah qualified for employment in ICE’s verification system or how he participated in the fraud.
Tema could not be reached for comment. The New Orleans Police Department did not release information about Termacher’s legal representation when asked, and the New Orleans Fraternal Order of Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Sara Cline contributed reporting from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
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Brooke is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
