Border Patrol says over 200 ‘illegal aliens’ arrested in first three days of ‘Operation Charlotte’s Web’
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Border Patrol officials say more than 200 ‘illegal aliens’ have been arrested over three days in the Charlotte immigration crackdown dubbed ‘Operation Charlotte’s Web.’
Local residents say they are feeling the impacts of the latest enforcement blitz backed by President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts.
Over 20% of students reported absent from schools, dozens of restaurants closed, drones flying over neighborhoods β just a few of the examples some residents say has put the city on edge.
Homeland Security officials have not yet stated how long this operation will last.
Updated Article from Nov. 17th at 5pm
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — U.S. immigration agents have arrested more than 130 people across Charlotte, North Carolina during the first days of the latest enforcement blitz.
The immigration sweep that started over the weekend in Charlotte comes on the heels of similar operations in Los Angeles and Chicago.
It’s all part of Republican President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts that have sent the the military and immigration agents into Democratic-run cities.
Hereβs what to know:
Why Charlotte?
The Department of Homeland Security says it’s focusing on North Carolina’s biggest city because of so-called sanctuary policies that limit cooperation between local authorities and immigration agents.
However, most North Carolina county jails have long honored βdetainers,β 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. Charlotte is run by a Democratic mayor, and its police department doesnβt 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.
The Trump administration also has pointed to the fatal stabbing this summer of a Ukrainian refugee on a Charlotte light-rail train to argue that Democratic-led cities are failing to protect residents.
Local leaders argue that the enforcement isn’t needed, pointing to declining crime rates.
Are there many immigrants in Charlotte?
Charlotte and its suburbs in Mecklenburg County continue to be among the nation’s fastest-growing regions, driven a great deal by international migration.
The city alone is home to about 950,000 residents, including roughly 150,000 people who are foreign-born, according to local officials. The biggest share come from Latin American countries.
How many people have been arrested?
So far, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency says more than 130 people have been arrested in Charlotte in just two days.
It says those arrested include people with records of gang membership, aggravated assault, shoplifting and other crimes. But the agency offered few other details, including how many of those had been facing charges.
What is the reaction in Charlotte?
In the days before agents arrived in Charlotte, organizations opposing the sweep began training volunteers how to recognize federal agents and protest what’s happening. The groups also made sure that immigrants are aware of their rights.
At least one store owner closed his shop part this weekend because he said immigration enforcement officers had targeted his customers.
How have North Carolina leaders responded
The state’s governor, Democrat Josh Stein, says the enforcement activity is increasing fears and dividing Charlotte.
He says masked Border Patrol agents are targeting people based on their skin color and picking up random people in parking lots and sidewalks.
Mecklenburg County Republican Party Chairman Kyle Kirby is welcoming the action, saying the county party stands with the rule of law and putting safety first.
Original Article Posted Nov. 17th
A top Border PatrolΒ commander touted dozens of arrests in North Carolinaβs largest city on Saturday and Sunday as Charlotte residents reported encounters with federal immigration agents near churches, apartment complexes and stores. Commander Gregory Bovino says 130 people were arrested over the two day operation.
The Trump administration has made the Democratic city of about 950,000 people itsΒ latest targetΒ for an immigration enforcement surge it says will combat crime, despite fierceΒ objectionsΒ from local leaders andΒ down trending crime rates.
Bovino, who led hundreds of U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents on a similar effort in Chicago, took to social media to document a few of the more than 80 arrests he said agents had made. He posted pictures of people the Trump administration commonly dubs βcriminal illegal aliens,β for people living in the U.S. without legal permission who have alleged criminal records. That included one of a man with an alleged history of drunk driving convictions.
βWe arrested him, taking him off the streets of Charlotte so he canβt continue to ignore our laws and drive intoxicated on the same roads you and your loved ones are on,β Bovino wrote on X.
The effort was dubbed βOperation Charlotteβs Webβ as a play on the title of a famous childrenβs book that isnβt about North Carolina.
But the flurry of activity immediately prompted fears and questions, including where detainees would be held, how long the operation would last and what agents’ tactics β criticized elsewhere as aggressive andΒ racistΒ β would look like in North Carolina. On Saturday, at least oneΒ U.S. citizenΒ said he was thrown to the ground and briefly detained.
At Camino, a nonprofit group that offers services to Latino communities, some said they were too afraid to leave their homes to attend school, medical appointments or work. A dental clinic the group runs had nine cancellations on Friday, spokesperson Paola Garcia said.
βLatinos love this country. They came here to escape socialism and communism, and theyβre hard workers and people of faith,β Garcia said. βThey love their family, and itβs just so sad to see that this community now has this target on their back.β
Bovino’s operations in Chicago and Los Angeles triggered aΒ flurry of lawsuitsΒ over the use of force, including wide deployment ofΒ chemical agents. Democratic leaders in both places accused agents of inflaming community tensions. Federal agentsΒ fatally shotΒ 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 theirΒ tactics appropriateΒ for growing threats on agents.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees CBP, did not respond to inquiries about the Charlotte arrests. Bovino’s spokesman did not return a request for comment Sunday.
Elsewhere, DHS has not offered many details about its arrests. In the Chicago area, the agency only provided names and details on a handful of its more than 3,000 arrests in the metro region from September to last week. U.S. citizens were detained during several operations. Dozens of protesters were also arrested.
By Sunday, reports of CBP activity around Charlotte were βoverwhelmingβ and difficult to quantify, Greg Asciutto, executive director of the community development group CharlotteEast, said in a morning email
βThe past two hours weβve received countless reports of CBP activity at churches, apartment complexes and a hardware store,β he said.
City council member-elect JD Mazuera Arias said federal agents appeared to be focused on churches and apartment buildings.
βHouses of worship. I mean, thatβs just awful,β he said. βThese are sanctuaries for people who are looking for hope and faith in dark times like these and who no longer can feel safe because of the gross violation of peopleβs right to worship.β
DHS said it was focusing on North Carolina because of so-called sanctuary policies, which limit cooperation between local authorities and immigration agents.
Several county jails house immigrant arrestees and honor detainers, which allow jails to hold detainees for immigration officers to pick them up. But Mecklenburg County, where Charlotte is located, does not. Also, the city’s police department does not help with immigration enforcement.
DHS alleged that about 1,400 detainers across North Carolina had not been honored, putting the public at risk.
βWe are surging DHS law enforcement to Charlotte to ensure Americans are safe and public safety threats are removed,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
