Overview
- ICE identified the recruit as Larry Temah, 46, from Cameroon, and took him into custody in New Orleans about a week before his scheduled police academy graduation.
- DHS says Temah entered the U.S. on a visitor visa in 2015, gained conditional residency after a 2016 marriage, and was denied permanent status in 2022 due to fraud.
- According to DHS, Temah missed three immigration court hearings and an immigration judge issued a removal order in absentia recorded on Dec. 5, 2025.
- NOPD says he held a driver’s license and Social Security number, cleared E‑Verify and NCIC checks, and that the department had no detainer notice or indication in his file of unlawful status.
- DHS criticized NOPD for hiring and arming him, asserting it is a felony for unauthorized immigrants to possess firearms, while officials say Temah remains in ICE custody pending removal under the existing order.