Aggressive arrests by federal immigration agents continued in Charlotte on Monday after a weekend sweep in which authorities said they detained a total of at least 130 people in North Carolina’s largest city, as protests picked up.
North Carolina’s governor, Josh Stein, on Monday warned that the crackdown was simply “stoking fear” and resulting in severe disruption.
The Trump administration on Saturday sent border patrol agents to Charlotte to enhance operations by Customs and Immigration Enforcement.
The White House has argued that its latest focus on the Democratic-run city of about 950,000 people is an effort to combat crime but the enforcement has been met with fierce objections from local leaders – amid declining crime rates in the city.
Many residents were additionally outraged when there was a flurry of reported encounters with immigration agents near churches, apartment complexes and stores over the weekend, chasing and arresting people as part of anti-immigration measures but which included some US citizens.
“We’ve seen masked, heavily armed agents in paramilitary garb driving unmarked cars, targeting American citizens based on their skin color, racially profiling and picking up random people in parking lots and off of our sidewalks,” Stein, a Democrat, said in a video statement late on Sunday.
“This is not making us safer. It’s stoking fear and dividing our community.”
Similarly, Charlotte mayor Vi Lyles said on Monday that she is “deeply concerned with many of the videos I’ve seen,” adding: “I urge all agencies operating here to conduct their work with respect for those values.
“We are actively working with our partners to determine what more we can do to support our community while working within complicated legal boundaries,” Lyles continued.
Over the weekend, a coalition of Muslim-American groups led by the Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a public warning to residents, saying: “We urge all our community members to stay safe during these times, especially as mosques and community spaces may be targeted.
“Our city is strengthened by families who contribute to its neighborhoods, schools, businesses, and houses of worship. Charlotte, and North Carolina as a whole, has long been shaped by newcomers, and we refuse to allow anyone, local or national, to use xenophobia or Islamophobia to divide us or make our neighbors feel unsafe,” the coalition added.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that border patrol officers had arrested “over 130 illegal aliens who have all broken” immigration laws.
The agency said the records of those arrested included gang membership, aggravated assault, shoplifting and other crimes, but it did not say how many of such cases had resulted in convictions, how many people had been facing charges or any other details.
Stein acknowledged that it was a stressful time, but he called on residents to stay peaceful. If people see something they feel is wrong, they should record it and report it to local law enforcement, the governor said.
The homeland security department, which oversees Customs and Border Protection (CBP), has said it is focusing on North Carolina because of so-called sanctuary policies, which limit cooperation between local authorities and immigration agents.
Meanwhile, North Carolina’s Republican party hailed the operations, with chairperson Jason Simmons saying: “Border Patrol is in Charlotte for one reason: the need is real.”
He went on to point the blame at Democrats, saying: “When local Democrats – who control all aspects of local government – refuse to enforce the law, federal agencies have no choice but to step in and protect this community. This is no political stunt.”
North Carolina’s Democratic representative Deborah Ross pushed back against claims that the operations are being conducted for the sake of public safety, saying: “The Trump administration is sowing fear in our communities. They are targeting people based on the color of their skin and the languages they speak. This is not public safety.”
Echoing Ross was Roy Cooper, the state’s former Democratic governor who said: “Randomly sweeping up people based on what they look like, including American citizens and those with no criminal records, risks leaving violent criminals at large while hurting families and the economy.”
Several North Carolina county jails honor “detainers”, or requests from federal officials to hold an arrested immigrant until agents can take custody of them. But Mecklenburg county, which includes Charlotte, does not.
Also, the city’s police department does not help with immigration enforcement. The DHS alleged that about 1,400 detainers across North Carolina had not been honored and claimed this was putting the public at risk.
US courts have repeatedly upheld the legality of sanctuary laws.
On Saturday, some normally bustling commercial districts were described as being at a standstill as shoppers stayed home to avoid possible encounters with ICE or border patrol agents seeking undocumented residents to arrest.
Manolo Betancur, owner of Manolo’s Bakery, a Latino-run bakery operating in Charlotte since 1997, closed his business temporarily because he said immigration enforcement officers were targeting customers.
Some welcomed the Trump administration’s effort, however, including the Mecklenburg county Republican party chairman, Kyle Kirby, who said in a post on Saturday that the county GOP “stands with the rule of law – and with every Charlottean’s safety first”.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
