Kenner PD received $440K in federal immigration payments
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Federal agents stand by as construction workers are detained on a Kenner rooftop in December 2025. Photo: Adam Gray/AFP via Getty Images
The Kenner Police Department received more than $440,000 from ICE and Homeland Security between February and May, public records show.
Why it matters: While the KPD did not confirm these payments were directly related to assisting immigration enforcement efforts, they were disclosed after Axios New Orleans requested records on those efforts.
The big picture: KPD is just one of at least a dozen Louisiana law enforcement agencies that signed 287(g) agreements with ICE, which pledge support for immigration activities.
- Chief Keith Conley signed the agreement in March 2025.
- Beginning last October, ICE began reimbursing participating agencies for the salaries, benefits and overtime costs of its 287(g)-trained officers, as well as additional funds for equipment and "monetary performance awards."
The intrigue: It's not clear exactly what the payments were for. KPD canceled Axios New Orleans' interview with Conley, and did not reply to follow-up questions over email.
- KPD produced five bank transaction lines totaling $440,296.56 in response to an Axios public records request seeking records from Sept. 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, of federal payments or other compensation connected to immigration enforcement, including "Operation Catahoula Crunch."
- The second-largest payment, for $212,500, arrived Feb. 24, just weeks after KPD began assisting federal agents with a winter immigration enforcement surge. The department also received a May 5 payment for $225,000.
- Axios New Orleans also requested invoices, reimbursement requests, agreements and communications related to such funding, but KPD said no additional responsive records were available.
Between the lines: Neither the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Department nor the New Orleans Police Department have signed 287(g) agreements.
- JPSO has assisted with immigration enforcement in the past, Verite reports.
- But JPSO "did not directly participate in Operation Catahoula Crunch," a records representative told Axios.
What we're watching: Headline-busting immigration crackdowns slowed down after federal agents shot and killed two people in Minneapolis, which was followed by a Homeland Security leadership change.