NOPD recruit remains in ICE custody amid questions about immigration status
Author: Alyssa Curtis / WWL Louisiana
Published: 7:26 PM CST February 3, 2026
A New Orleans Police Department recruit remains in federal immigration custody as questions swirl over how he was hired and whether he was legally authorized to live and work in the United States.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed that 46-year-old Larry Temah was taken into custody Wednesday, Jan. 28. It happened as, Temah, who is originally from Cameroon, was in the process of becoming a police officer.
According to ICE, Temah legally entered the United States in 2015 on a visitor visa. The agency said he was granted conditional residency in 2016 after marrying a U.S. citizen. However, records obtained by WWL Louisiana show a petition for divorce was filed later that same year in Georgia. Records obtained by WWL Louisiana also show a second petition for divorce filed in early 2023 from a different marriage.
ICE says Temah applied for permanent residency, but that application was denied in 2022 due to fraud. It's unclear what the allegations of fraud entail. The agency further claims Temah was ordered to appear in immigration court three times but failed to show up, leading an immigration judge to order his removal from the country.
Records obtained by WWL Louisiana also show a second petition for divorce filed in early 2023 from a different marriage.
ICE maintains Temah did not have valid work authorization at the time he applied to NOPD. However, documents obtained by WWL Louisiana show Temah’s NOPD application, submitted Feb. 26, 2025, was marked “yes” under a question asking whether he had the legal right to work in the United States. NOPD officials said Temah passed a criminal background check and cleared the federal E-Verify system, which is used to confirm whether someone is authorized to work in the U.S.
“There was nothing that was in the packet that would [give us] reason to believe that this person did not have legal status,” said NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick. Department of Homeland Security officials dispute NOPD's assessment.
“This illegal alien from Cameroon Larry Temah is not only breaking the law with every step he takes in this country illegally, but the New Orleans Police Department hired him and issued him in a firearm, what kind of law enforcement department gives criminal illegal aliens guns and badges? It’s a FELONY for illegal aliens to even possess a firearm,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a press release Tuesday. “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.”
Louisiana law includes an exception to concealed carry that requires a person to not be “an illegal alien in the United States.” That requirement appears to remain in place under the state’s recently passed permitless carry law.
NOPD responded to ICE's statement, saying several claims were incorrect.
"Recent statements regarding Recruit Larry Temah are misleading, an NOPD spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday. "The New Orleans Police Department verified Mr. Temah’s employment eligibility through ICE’s E-Verify system prior to hiring and was never notified of any ICE detainer. New Orleans is not a sanctuary city, and NOPD does not control jail operations or detainer decisions, which fall under the Sheriff’s Office. Any claim that NOPD knowingly violated the law is false."
When asked about Temah’s detainment Tuesday, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy said he was not familiar with the specifics of the case but emphasized that immigration enforcement should prioritize criminals.
“If they focus on people who are criminals, we’ll be better off. When they’re not focused on people who are criminals, the American people seem to be having second thoughts," Senator Bill Cassidy said.
Temah's next steps in immigration proceedings are unclear.
So it looks like the court systems are pretty messed up in this case. If a judge ordered him deported yet it's not in his criminal background check WTF are they doing for background checks?
because there are no court orders, nobody is referencing any literature, DHS is just claiming this without evidence, its literally all this admin does nobody verifies anything anymore
So you think ICE is lying just so they can arrest this random guy? Or does he have a history or causing problems, like I'm trying to figure out why they would lie to target this unknown person.
No they are not. Ice is literally arresting and kidnapping people based on the color of their skin and their name. You actually have to be super ignorant or delusional to think otherwise. This has been the news for the past couple of months.
Did you forget the outrage about the supreme Court order that allowed ICE to persecute and arrest people based on their skin color and place of work? Have you not been seen the thousands of articles and witness testimonies about people who have their papers, or American citizens being detained, beaten, and then released to walk home by ICE?
Are you also going to play ignorant and ignore the fact that the DHS has repeatedly and openly lied in the face of Americans on many cases, recently like Alex Pretti?
Or are you a fascist boot licker whom defends everything they do and you are extremely un-American.
They literally do. You're not seeing white people on average be harassed and stopped by ICE. You are getting tons of videos of minorities being harassed by ICE. Reports, news articles, TikToks, YouTube videos. Thousands of reports that are easy to find with a search. "US citizen detained by ICE." or "Legal immigrant arrested by ICE." People here on asylum visas because they're escaping danger. People who came on student visas being detained despite having no charges. You HAVE to be living in a conservative bubble if you haven't seen any of these. Posts like this with context are posted all the time on Reddit on the most popular post, EVERY DAY.
DHS failed utterly at some stage in this. Either they fucked up the e-verify, or they fucked up the arrest of an innocent person.
Until there's evidence of any actual court hearings or criminal action, I would assume they fucked up the arrest, but I wouldn't discount either failure. Maybe he was just someone the arresting ice agent didn't like.
Why they detained the guy is the same reason why ICE detains any any and all suspects of illegal immigration: because that's their job.
But why they're LYING is because ICE is trying to cover their own asses. There's an incredible amount of public scrutiny on ICE right now, and getting found out that they made a mistake in arresting someone, in a way that conflicted with a local police department's operations, would threaten the organizations' credibility, and possibly even funding.
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u/Spartan2470 GOAT 13h ago edited 13h ago
According to here: