After a surge in Border Patrol activity in North Carolina’s largest city over the weekend, including dozens of arrests, Governor Josh Stein said the effort is “stoking fear,” not making Charlotte safer. The Trump administration has made the Democratic city of about 950,000 people its latest target for an immigration enforcement surge it asserts will combat crime, despite fierce objections from local leaders and downtrending crime rates. Charlotte residents reported encounters with federal 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,” Stein said in a video statement late Sunday. “This is not making us safer. It’s stoking fear and dividing our community.”
Stein acknowledged that it was a stressful time, but called on residents to stay peaceful. If people see something 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 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.
The activity has prompted fear and questions, including where detainees would be held, how long the operation would last, and what agents’ tactics would look like in North Carolina. However, some welcomed the effort, including Mecklenburg County Republican Party Chairman Kyle Kirby, who said the county GOP “stands with the rule of law—and with every Charlottean’s safety first.”
“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,” Stein said in a video statement late Sunday. “This is not making us safer. It’s stoking fear and dividing our community.”
Stein acknowledged that it was a stressful time, but called on residents to stay peaceful. If people see something 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 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.
The activity has prompted fear and questions, including where detainees would be held, how long the operation would last, and what agents’ tactics would look like in North Carolina. However, some welcomed the effort, including Mecklenburg County Republican Party Chairman Kyle Kirby, who said the county GOP “stands with the rule of law—and with every Charlottean’s safety first.”
