High border patrol leader Dozens of arrests in North Carolina’s largest city on Sunday were described as… Charlotte Residents reported encounters with federal immigration agents near churches, apartment complexes, and stores.
The Trump administration has made the Democratic city of about 950,000 residents its home Latest target In order to increase immigration enforcement, she says she will combat crime, despite its ferocity Objections From local leaders and Decreased trend crime rates.
Gregory Bovino, who led hundreds of U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in a similar effort in Chicago, took to social media to document a few of the more than 80 arrests he said agents made. He posted photos of what the Trump administration often calls “criminal illegal aliens,” people living in the United States without legal permission and with alleged criminal records. This included a man with an alleged history of drink driving convictions.
“We arrested him and took him off the streets of Charlotte so he can’t continue to ignore our laws and drive drunk on the same roads you and your loved ones are on,” Bovino wrote on X.
The effort was dubbed “Operation Charlotte’s Web” as a play on the title of a popular children’s book not related to North Carolina.
But the flurry of activity immediately raised concerns and questions, including where the detainees were being held, how long the operation would last, and what the agents’ tactics were – criticized elsewhere as aggressive and insulting. racist – It will look like it does in North Carolina. On Saturday, at least one US citizen He said he was thrown to the ground and briefly detained.
At Camino, a nonprofit group that provides services to Latino communities, some said they were too afraid to leave their homes to go to school, medical appointments or work. A dental clinic run by the group canceled nine flights on Friday, spokeswoman Paula Garcia said.
“Latinos love this country,” Garcia said. “They came here to escape socialism and communism, and they are hard workers and people of faith.” “They love their families, and it is very sad to see this community now carrying that goal on their shoulders.”
Bovino’s operations in Chicago and Los Angeles sparked A.J A wave of lawsuits on the use of force, including widespread deployment Chemical agents. Democratic leaders in both places accused agents of inflaming community tensions. Federal agents Deadly shot One man in a Chicago suburb during a traffic stop.
Bovino, the head of the Border Patrol sector in El Centro, California, and other Trump administration officials have contacted him Appropriate tactics Due to increasing threats to customers.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Customs and Border Protection, did not respond to inquiries about Charlotte’s arrests. Bovino’s spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday.
Elsewhere, DHS did not provide many details about the arrests it made. In the Chicago area, the agency only provided names and details of a small number of the more than 3,000 people arrested in the metro area from September to last week. American citizens were arrested during several operations. Dozens of demonstrators were also arrested.
By Sunday, reports of CBP activity around Charlotte were “overwhelming” and difficult to quantify, Greg Aciotto, executive director of the community development group Charlotte East, said in a morning email.
“Over the past two hours we have received countless reports of CBP activity at churches, apartment complexes and hardware stores,” he said.
Federal agents appear to be focusing on churches and apartment buildings, City Councilman-elect J.D. Mazuera Arias said.
“Houses of worship. I mean, this is terrible,” he said. “These are havens for people who seek hope and faith in dark times like these and who can no longer feel safe because of the gross violation of people’s right to worship.”
The Department of Homeland Security said it was focusing on North Carolina because of so-called sanctuary policies, which limit cooperation between local authorities and immigration agents.
Many county jails house immigration detainees and honor detainees, allowing jails to hold detainees until immigration officers pick them up. But Mecklenburg County, where Charlotte is located, does not. The city’s police department also does not assist in immigration enforcement.
The Department of Homeland Security claimed that about 1,400 detainees across North Carolina were not honored, putting the public at risk.
“We are working to strengthen DHS law enforcement in Charlotte to ensure the safety of Americans and remove threats to public safety,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
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Taryn and Dale reported from Chicago. Witt reported from Annapolis, Maryland.