The Capital Region saw its first wave of immigration arrests by Border Patrol agents this week, as Operation Catahoula Crunch spread from the New Orleans area.

Border Patrol agents have detained more than 250 people since the operation started Dec. 3, the Department of Homeland Security said Thursday. But the agency did not elaborate on how many of those arrests have been in New Orleans compared to Baton Rouge and its surrounding communities.

According to the Mision Migrante Coalition, a group that organizer Rachel Taber described as a loosely-organized group of citizen volunteers, community leaders and attorneys aiming to educate immigrants about their rights, while immigration detainments have been happening in the Capital Region since May, there has been a drastic increase in arrests

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