CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — U.S. immigration agents arrested more than 130 people in a weekend sweep through North Carolina’s largest city, a federal official said Monday, as the governor warned that the crackdown is simply “stoking fear.”
The Trump administration has made Charlotte, a Democratic city of about 950,000 people, its latest focus for an immigration enforcement surge it says will combat crime, despite fierce objections from local leaders and declining crime rates. City residents reported encounters with immigration agents near churches, apartment complexes and stores.
“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,” Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, said in a video statement late Sunday. “This is not making us safer. It’s stoking fear and dividing our community.”
Homeland Security 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 cases had resulted in convictions, how many people had been facing charges or any other details.
Governor calls for people to stay peaceful
Stein acknowledged that it was a stressful time, but he called on residents to stay peaceful. If people see something they feel is wrong, he said they should record it and report it to local law enforcement.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Customs and Border Protection, has said it is focusing on North Carolina because of so-called sanctuary policies, which limit cooperation between local authorities and immigration agents.
However, most North Carolina county jails have long honored “detainers,” or requests from federal officials to hold an arrested immigrant for a limited time so agents can take custody of them. But some common, non-cooperation policies have existed in a handful of places in the state, including Charlotte, where the police do not help with immigration enforcement.
In Mecklenburg County, which includes Charlotte, the jail did not honor detainer requests for several years, until after state law effectively made it mandatory starting last year. DHS alleged that about 1,400 detainers across North Carolina had not been honored, putting the public at risk.
U.S. courts have repeatedly upheld the legality of sanctuary laws.
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles said Monday she was “deeply concerned” about videos she’s seen of the crackdown. She said “the rights and constitutional protections of every person in Charlotte — regardless of immigration status — must be upheld.”
In a statement, Lyles said she appreciates the peacefulness of protesters, saying their commitment to expressing their concerns “while protecting the safety of our community reflects the best of our city.”
“To everyone in Charlotte who is feeling anxious or fearful: You are not alone. Your city stands with you,” she said.
Manolo Betancur, owner of Manolo’s Bakery, a Latino bakery that has been operating in Charlotte since 1997, closed his business temporarily because he said immigration enforcement officers were targeting his customers.
On Saturday, blocks from his business, he saw agents grabbing people walking along the street.
“I saw them with my own eyes,” he said. “And they just shoved people to the floor.”
On Saturday, he saw uniformed agents in vehicles several times in the parking lot near his business.
“I’m scared,” he said. “Nobody wants to see another human being treated that way.” He said he would hand-deliver paychecks to his employees so they don’t have to come in.
Charlotte arrests follow similar effort in Chicago
Earlier, Gregory Bovino, who led hundreds of Customs and Border Protection agents in a similar effort in Chicago, documented some of the more than 80 arrests he said agents had made in social media posts on Sunday. He posted pictures of people living in the U.S. without legal permission who allegedly have criminal records. That included an image of a man accused of having a history of drunk driving convictions.
The activity has prompted fear and questions, including where detainees would be held, how long the operation would last and whether the tactics used in North Carolina would be similar to those that were criticized elsewhere as aggressive and racist.
However, some welcomed the effort, including Mecklenburg County Republican Party Chairman Kyle Kirby, who said in a post Saturday that the county GOP “stands with the rule of law — and with every Charlottean’s safety first.”
Bovino’s operations in Chicago and Los Angeles triggered lawsuits over the use of force, including widespread deployment of chemical agents. Democratic leaders in both cities accused agents of inflaming community tensions. Federal agents fatally shot one suburban Chicago man during a traffic stop.
Bovino, head of a Border Patrol sector in El Centro, California, and other Trump administration officials have called their tactics appropriate for growing threats on agents.
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Robertson reported from Raleigh, North Carolina. Witte reported from Annapolis, Maryland. Associated Press writers Sophia Tareen and Maryclaire Dale in Chicago also contributed to this report.
