CHARLOTTE, N.C — Charlotte, North Carolina, is the latest city preparing for a potential surge in federal immigration enforcement, expected as soon as this weekend, according to the county sheriff.
Sheriff Garry McFadden of Mecklenburg County announced that two federal authorities have confirmed plans for U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents to initiate operations in the city, which is the largest in North Carolina, starting either Saturday or early next week. However, McFadden did not disclose the identities of these officials. Details of the planned operation remain undisclosed, and the sheriff’s office has not been requested to participate.
Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, refrained from commenting on the matter, stating that the DHS enforces national laws daily across the U.S. and does not discuss potential or future operations.
President Donald Trump has justified deploying military and immigration officers to cities governed by Democrats, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., arguing that these measures are necessary to combat crime and further his immigration enforcement objectives.
Charlotte, recognized as a Democratic bastion, has drawn attention from local and state officials who estimate that the city is home to over 150,000 individuals born outside the U.S. The city’s demographics include approximately 40% white, 33% Black, 16% Hispanic, and 7% Asian residents.
The Trump administration has pointed to the tragic stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte light-rail train as evidence that Democratic-led cities struggle to protect residents from criminal activities. An individual with a significant criminal history has been charged with her murder.
Activists, faith leaders, and local and state officials say they already started preparing the immigrant community for a crackdown, sharing information about resources and attempting to calm fears. Nearly 500 people participated in a call organized by the group CharlotteEAST on Wednesday.
“The purpose of this call was to create a mutual aid network,” said City Councilmember-Elect JD Mazuera Arias. CharlotteEAST executive director Greg Asciutto urged residents to connect with groups providing support.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has clarified that it “has no authority to enforce federal immigration laws,” and is not involved in planning or carrying out these operations.
Mazuera Arias and others said they had already begun receiving unconfirmed reports of what appeared to be plainclothes officers in neighborhoods and on transit.
“This is some of the chaos that we also saw in Chicago,” state Sen. Caleb Theodros, who represents Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, said Thursday.
Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol chief who led Customs and Border Protection’s recent Chicago operation and was central to the immigration operation in Los Angeles, had been coy about where agents would target next.
The Trump administration’s ” Operation Midway Blitz ” began in the Chicago area in early September, over the objections of local leaders. It initially involved limited arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in the suburbs but expanded to include hundreds of Customs and Border Protection agents.
Their tactics grew increasingly aggressive. More than 3,200 people suspected of violating immigration laws have been arrested across the region.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees both immigration agencies, has offered few details on the arrests beyond highlighting a handful of people who were living in the U.S. without legal permission and had criminal records.
The group Indivisible Charlotte and the Carolina Migrant Network will train volunteers Friday on what rights people have when interacting with immigration authorities and how to spot federal immigration agents.
“They’re not always wearing vests that say ‘ICE,’” said Tony Siracusa, spokesperson for Indivisible Charlotte.
The groups will also discuss potential “pop up protests,” but he stressed that the activists weren’t encouraging people to go get arrested.
Siracusa said locals are “not freaking out, but very definitely concerned.”
Daniela Andrade, communications director at the Carolina Migrant Network, noted that organizers canceled a Hispanic heritage festival this year out of concerns about immigration enforcement. The group had been holding in-person “know your rights” sessions for immigrants since the beginning of the year but switched to virtual events even before Thursday’s news.
“It’s the concern of family separation, of being removed from a community where many people have lived here for years,” she said.
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Breed reported from Wake Forest, North Carolina. Associated Press writer Sophia Tareen in Chicago contributed to this report.
