Charlotte, North Carolina – Federal immigration authorities will expand their enforcement actions in North Carolina to include Raleigh on Tuesday, the mayor of the state capital said, while Customs and Border Protection agents continue to work in Charlotte after a weekend that saw more than 130 people arrested in that city.
Mayor Janet Coyle said Monday she did not know the size of the operation or how long the agents would be there. The immigration authorities did not talk about this. The Democrat said in a statement that crime was lower in Raleigh this year than last year and that public safety was a priority for her and the City Council.
“I ask Raleigh to remember our values and maintain peace and respect through any challenges ahead,” Quayle said in a statement.
US immigration agents arrested more than 130 people over the weekend in a sweep in Charlotte. The largest city in North CarolinaA federal official said Monday.
The moves in North Carolina come after the Trump administration launched anti-immigration crackdowns in Los Angeles and Chicago. Both of these dark blue cities in deep blue states are run by nationally prominent officials who make no secret of their anger at the White House. The political logic there seems clear.
But why North Carolina and why was Charlotte the top target there?
To be sure, the mayor is a Democrat, as is the governor, but neither is known for wading into national political battles. In a country where divided government has become the norm, Governor Josh Stein In particular I tried hard to get along With the state legislature controlled by the Republican Party. The state’s two U.S. senators are both Republicans, and President Donald Trump won the state in the last three presidential elections.
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.
But perhaps focusing on a place where politics is ostensibly less bloody is part of the equation.
The White House “could have enough opposition (to its crackdown), but it’s a weaker version” of what it faced in places like Chicago, said Rick Su, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law who studies local government, immigration and federalism.
“They’re not just interested in deporting people. They’re interested in the show,” he said.
The trump administration made charlotte, a Democratic city Of about 950,000 people Latest focus To increase immigration enforcement, she says she will fight crime — despite local opposition and pressure Decreased crime rates. Residents reported confrontations with immigration agents near churches, apartment complexes and stores.
Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin, said in a statement that Border Patrol agents arrested “more than 130 illegal aliens, all of whom violated” immigration laws. The agency said detainee records include gang membership, aggravated assaults, robbery and other crimes, but it did not say how many cases led to convictions, how many people faced charges, or any other details.
A violent crackdown began Objections From the leaders of the region.
“We saw masked, heavily armed agents wearing paramilitary clothing driving unmarked cars, Targeting American citizens “Based on the color of their skin. That doesn’t make us any safer,” Stein said in a video statement late Sunday. “It creates fear and divides our society.”
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles said Monday she was “deeply concerned” by videos she saw of the crackdown, but she also said she appreciated the peacefulness of the protesters.
“To everyone in Charlotte who is feeling anxious or afraid: You are not alone. Your city stands with you,” she said in a statement.
Charlotte and surrounding Mecklenburg County have found themselves part of US debates on crime and immigration, two of the most important issues for the White House.
The most notable of which was the fatal stabbing incident suffered by a Ukrainian refugee this summer Irina Zarutska The attack was captured on video on a Charlotte light rail train. While the suspect was from the United States, the Trump administration repeatedly confirmed that he had previously been arrested more than a dozen times.
Charlotte, which had a Republican mayor in 2009, is now a Democratic-dominated city, with a growing population thanks to a booming economy. Officials say the ethnically diverse city has more than 150,000 foreign-born residents.
Lyles easily He won a fifth term As mayor earlier this month, she defeated her Republican challenger by 45 percentage points even as GOP critics blasted city and state leaders over what they call rising crime incidents. After the Nov. 4 election, Democrats are poised to retain 10 of the 11 other City Council seats.
While the Department of Homeland Security has said it is focusing on the state because of its sanctuary policies, North Carolina county jails have long honored “detainers,” or requests by federal officials to hold detained immigrants for a limited period until agents can detain them. However, there have been some common non-cooperation policies in a few places, including Charlotte, where police do not assist in immigration enforcement.
In Mecklenburg County, the jail did not honor detention requests for several years, until state law made it mandatory starting last year.
About 1,400 detainees across North Carolina have not been honored since October 2020, putting the public at risk, the Department of Homeland Security said.
For years, Mecklenburg Mayor Gary McFadden has opposed efforts by the Republican-controlled state Legislature to force him and a handful of sheriffs from other urban counties to accept ICE detainees.
Ultimately, Republicans overrode then-Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto late last year to activate the bill into law.
While McFadden said his office was complying with the law’s requirements, he continued a public dispute with ICE leaders in early 2025 that led to a new state law tightening those rules. Stein vetoed the measure, but his veto was overridden.
Republican House Speaker Destin Hall said in a Monday post on
Last month, McFadden said he had a productive meeting with an ICE representative.
“I have made clear that I do not want to prevent ICE from doing its job, but I want them to do so safely, responsibly, and with appropriate coordination by notifying our agency in advance,” McFadden said in a statement.
But such talk does not calm the political atmosphere.
“Democrats at all levels are choosing to protect illegal criminals for the citizens of North Carolina,” state Republican Party Chairman Jason Simons said Monday.
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Sullivan reported from Minneapolis and Robertson from Raleigh, North Carolina. Associated Press writers Brian Witt in Annapolis, Maryland, and Rebecca Santana in Washington contributed to this report.