U.S. immigration agents are targeting Charlotte, North Carolina, despite objections from local leaders, prompting activists, elected officials and community groups to monitor any sweeps and support vulnerable residents.
President Donald Trump’s administration confirmed Saturday that a surge of immigration enforcement in North Carolina’s largest city had begun. Agents were seen making arrests in multiple locations.
It is the latest step in the Trump administration’s strategy of putting immigration agents or the military on the streets of several large, Democratic-run cities. The push has caused fear and anxiety, especially among people who lack legal status to be in the country, and sparked a number of lawsuits.
Here’s what to know:
Why send agents to Charlotte?
Charlotte is a racially diverse city of more than 900,000 residents, including more than 150,000 who are foreign-born, according to local officials. It is run by a Democratic mayor, though North Carolina’s two U.S. senators are Republican and Trump won the state in the last three presidential elections.
Crime was down this year through August, compared with the same eight-month period in 2024, with homicides, rapes, robberies and motor vehicle thefts decreasing by more than 20%, according to AH Datalytics, which tracks crime across the country using local data for its Real-Time Crime Index.
But the Trump administration has seized upon the August fatal stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte light-rail train to argue that Democratic-led cities fail to protect residents. A man with a lengthy criminal record has been charged with that murder.
There is no indication, however, that border agents could or would have a role in enforcing local or state laws.
How have locals reacted?
Critics have characterized the arrival of border agents as an invasion. Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles said the agents “are causing unnecessary fear and uncertainty.”
Local groups are training volunteers to protest and to safely document any immigration sweeps. They are also informing immigrants of their rights.
“We’ve seen what has taken place in other cities across this country when the federal government gets involved,” state Rep. Jordan Lopez said.
Mecklenburg County Commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell urged the public to “meet the moment peacefully” and “reduce panic.”
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has said it has no authority to enforce federal immigration laws and is not involved in such operations.
Is the National Guard involved?
There is no sign that the guard will go to Charlotte, though three Republican members of North Carolina’s congressional delegation have urged Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, to request it.
The governor’s office said local police are a better choice to keep neighborhoods safe.
The Trump administration has deployed the guard to the District of Columbia and the Los Angeles area, citing crime and a need to protect immigration agents, and Memphis, Tennessee. Courts have blocked the guard from operating so far in the Chicago area and in Portland, Oregon.
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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Zarutska.
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Associated Press writer Christopher L. Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributed.
