Trump administration plans to deploy Border Patrol to Charlotte, New Orleans

The Trump administration is planning to send US Border Patrol agents to Charlotte, North Carolina, and New Orleans as part of an expanded federal law enforcement presence in American cities, a report by The New York Times on Tuesday said.

Officials familiar with the planning told the newspaper that deployments are still being finalized.

Border Patrol agents will also maintain a presence in the Chicago area, where a two-month enforcement operation has resulted in thousands of arrests and repeated confrontations between federal agents and residents.

Agents there have sometimes used force, including tear gas and pepper spray, and were fired upon by an unknown assailant last Saturday, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

The Chicago operations have drawn judicial scrutiny. Last week, US District Judge Sara L. Ellis restricted the agency's use of crowd-control weapons, describing the prior use of force as "shocking the conscience," and ordered agents to wear body cameras.

Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary at the agency, declined to discuss the planned operations in Charlotte and New Orleans, saying only that "every day, D.H.S. enforces the laws of the nation across the country."

Trump has repeatedly cited a "crime problem" in New Orleans and indicated plans for a federal presence there. Louisiana Republican Gov. Jeff Landry has also requested deployment of the National Guard in the state.