New Orleans Police Claim Info 'Misleading' about Detained Recruit

The New Orleans Police Department slammed federal officials Tuesday for issuing "misleading" information about the arrest of Larry Temah, an NOPD recruit detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents last week at his home.

The police department's response came after the federal Department of Homeland Security blasted the NOPD in an earlier statement, saying "sanctuary cities like New Orleans ignore ICE detainers and are protecting illegal aliens at the expense of American citizens."

Federal officials never alerted the NOPD of any detainer placed on Temah, department spokesperson, Reese Harper, said in response to DHS' statement about Temah's arrest.

"New Orleans is not a sanctuary city, and NOPD does not control jail operations or detainer decisions, which fall under the Sheriff’s Office," Harper said. "Any claim that NOPD knowingly violated the law is false."

Harper added that the agency reviewed Temah's background through E-Verify, a system authorized by the Social Security Administration and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The latter agency falls under DHS.

Temah was detained on the morning of Jan. 28 at his home.

Attorney General Liz Murrill issued a statement Tuesday night, saying, “I have spoken with Chief Kirkpatrick about this. She says this individual was checked through E-Verify, and the City of New Orleans has adopted new policies and is cooperating with ICE. That said, I still have serious concerns about how this occurred and about the hiring process. I will continue to seek answers from all parties involved.”

Temah's case highlights questions facing local police agencies as they grapple with President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, such as whether to collaborate with federal agents, how to confront protests and, increasingly, whether their own officers could become targets of immigration sweeps.

The Times-Picayune reported last week that Temah, 46, entered the U.S. in 2015 and applied for a green card in Georgia the following year after marrying an American citizen. His green card application was rejected in 2022 because federal officials believed the marriage was fraudulent, an ICE spokesperson said last week.

Temah was thrice ordered to appear in immigration court over the following three years, but failed to show up on each occasion, the ICE spokesperson said.

That led a Georgia immigration judge on Dec. 5 to order Temah, “in absentia,” to be removed from the country.

Tuesday's DHS statement also criticized the NOPD for allowing Temah to carry a firearm as a person in the country illegally.

"It’s a felony for illegal aliens to even possess a firearm,” said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in the statement. “Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, ICE is restoring law and order. Criminal illegal aliens have no place in our communities — especially on our police forces.”

Temah has no criminal record, people familiar with his background have said, and he currently does not face criminal charges.

While DHS' statement said that "sanctuary cities like New Orleans ignore ICE detainers," the agency did not directly say whether federal authorities had issued a detainer in Temah's case prior to his arrest. Detainers are notices from federal officials to local law enforcement that a person has outstanding immigration violations.

An ICE spokesperson did not immediately respond to an inquiry about whether the agency had issued a detainer on Temah before his detention.

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