CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A member of Comunidad Colectiva released a statement and video of ICE agents taking immigrants into custody in east Charlotte.
The video shows ICE agents in unmarked vehicles behind the QuikTrip at the corner of Central Avenue and Eastway Drive. The agents had one person in custody.
The statement from Comunidad Colectiva says more than a dozen immigrants were arrested this morning in Charlotte by ICE following a workplace raid in Sanford, North Carolina.
The release also stated:
“Comunidad Colectiva remains committed to making sure Charlotte-Mecklenburg is a place where all families can live with safety and dignity. We call on our elected officials, including Charlotte’s mayor Vi Lyles, Charlotte City Council, the Mecklenburg County Commissioners, and Congresswoman Alma Adams to speak out against the actions of I.C.E. and the damaged it has caused in our community.”
ICE released the following statement this morning:
As to reports of ICE officers conducting immigration enforcement in the Charlotte area, ICE conducts targeted immigration arrests everyday as part of its ongoing mission to enforce federal immigration law. ICE has multiple offices in North Carolina, to include Charlotte, and the presence of ICE officers locally is not new.
As to how ICE conducts enforcement — ICE does not conduct any type of random or indiscriminate enforcement; the agency focuses first and foremost on criminal offenders and other public safety threats. The agency’s arrest stats clearly reflect this reality.
More than 90 person (sic) of persons arrested by the ICE Atlanta field office (The Carolinas and Georgia) in Fiscal Year 2018 had a prior criminal conviction or pending criminal charge. Any claim this agency indiscriminately targets persons in violation of federal immigration law is flatly contradicted by the data, which clearly shows this agency’s enforcement efforts are targeted toward criminal offenders. Here are the local field office arrest stats:
Atlanta field office ICE administrative arrest stats: (Georgia and the Carolinas)
FY18: 15,189 arrests, 9,490 convicted criminal – 62 percent, (additional 4,464 with pending criminal charges – 29 percent) = 91 percent of arrests pending criminal charges or prior convictionIf you’d like to check the status of any particular person to see if they were arrested and are currently in ICE custody you can do so easily via the agency’s website here: www.ice.gov.odls
