Anger builds against federal immigration raids in Charlotte

HERBERT L. WHITE | THE CHARLOTTE POST

North Carolina Sen. Caleb Theodros, who moved to the United States from Eritrea in east Africa as a child, criticized deployment of federal agents to conduct immigration enforcement raids in Charlotte. More than 100 people have been taken into custody by Customs and Border Protection since agents arrived on Nov. 15.

Closed shops.

Armed agents snatching people off the street.

A city unsure about what comes next.

That’s the first week of Operation Charlotte’s Web.

The federal crackdown on immigration enforcement has shaken Charlotte, with more than 130 people taken into custody by Customs and Border Protection agents. In response, protestors took to the streets and even East Mecklenburg High School, where students organized a walkout on Tuesday.

Although most of the attention on immigrant communities has focused on Hispanics, Black Charlotteans are lending support while criticizing the Trump administration’s deployment of CBP to Charlotte – which is 1,618 miles from the Mexico border.

“It was immigrants who built this country,” Charlotte-Mecklenburg NAACP President Corine Mack said last week. “Africans who were enslaved, who had no opportunity for freedom or even freedom of thought, were, in fact, immigrants. Now we’re talking about immigration as if it's something over there or over there, but the harm to every immigrant is harm to every one of us. In this country, we want to believe that the Constitution has protected us all, and in fact, it has not. That doesn’t mean that we can’t work to ensure that it does.”

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police reiterated last week in a statement it “does not have the authority to enforce federal immigration laws. Our responsibility is to enforce federal and state criminal laws and local ordinances. Immigration enforcement falls under the jurisdiction of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and CBP, both of which operate under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).”

CMPD officials confirm the agency isn’t authorized to execute federal administrative warrants, which are civil documents, nor plan or conduct immigration enforcement activities. Officers can become involved only in the event of criminal behavior or a warrant that falls under CMPD jurisdiction. 

CBP, which deployed to Charlotte on Nov. 15, immediately swept into immigrant neighborhoods in the east and south. The deployment of federal assets, which was called for by three Republican lawmakers and the Fraternal Order of Police Charlotte-Mecklenburg chapter as a response to lawlessness. Democrats contend Charlotte’s political profile – moderate-to-progressive with Black people in prominent elected and appointed positions – made it a target.

“Deploying armed, masked federal agents into our neighborhoods is not the way to build safer streets — it’s a recipe for fear, confusion, and division,” said City Council member Malcolm Graham. “There is no evidence that Charlotte faces an immigration crisis or that such extreme measures are necessary. If these reports are accurate, this appears to be more about politics than public safety.”

State Sen. Caleb Theodros, whose family immigrated from East Africa, said the lack of communication from Washington adds to the anxiety.

“The past week has shown us what a way to govern where we have had community members, elected officials, even reporters, on these fact-finding missions just to find out whether a federal force is coming into the city of Charlotte, the number one word you’re all going to hear in the next few months when time to campaign is going to be transparency,” he said. “What part of this governing has been transparent? Part of this entire process has been fully shown, so that community members know what’s going on, and I understand what these community members are going through.” 

The federal presence in North Carolina is expected to expand. Raleigh officials have confirmed immigration enforcement agents are likely to deploy there this week.
“We’ve witnessed what these tactics look like elsewhere, and every North Carolinian should be horrified,” said state Sen. Sydney Batch, a Democrat and the chamber’s minority leader. “The federal government’s unconstitutional actions are not only an insult to our Constitution, they are an affront to our values. North Carolina has always stood against federal overreach and fought for civil rights. We will not allow our communities to be used as battlegrounds by a federal administration hellbent on cruelty.

“The raids being carried out in our state violate our commitment to due process, the rule of law, and our deeply held belief in the value of every North Carolinian life.” 
Said Graham: “Heavy-handed enforcement tactics will only disrupt families, harm local businesses, and erode the community trust we’ve worked so hard to build. We must be clear: Charlotte doesn’t need or want federal agents conducting warrantless operations in our city.”

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