Charlotte Leaders Vow to Resist Imminent Federal Immigration Sweep

City prepares for potential CBP operation

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — City and community leaders in North Carolina's largest city described a pending federal immigration enforcement operation Friday as an "invasion," urging residents to protest peacefully and to record any agents' activity from a safe distance.

Mecklenburg County Commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell, whose family includes immigrants, said: "We are living in the strangest of times. A time when a felonious reality TV personality is occupying the White House. Unfortunately, we have seen this movie before, and now they want to film an episode of 'Shock and Awe' here in our city."

The gathering followed a statement from Sheriff Garry McFadden that unnamed federal officials told him U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents planned to begin an enforcement operation in Charlotte by Saturday or early next week. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees CBP, declined to comment on potential future operations. Local organizers said they are preparing for tactics similar to those used in Chicago and other Democratic-run cities.

"We've seen what has taken place in other cities across this country when the federal government gets involved," said state Rep. Jordan Lopez. "We have seen the undisciplined agents pointing weapons at unarmed civilians, the indiscriminate rounding up of civilians who are sleeping in their homes in the middle of the night in Chicago. We have seen the worst of law enforcement."

Local and state leaders said they have not received formal notice from the Trump administration about any mission to Charlotte. Community groups are training volunteers on how to protest safely, how to document potential sweeps from a distance, and how to inform immigrant residents of their legal rights.

Héctor Vaca, training and immigrant-justice director at Action NC, called the expected enforcement an "invasion" and described it as part of a "racist campaign of terror" by the federal administration.

President Donald Trump has defended deploying the National Guard and immigration agents to Democratic-run cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago and to Washington, D.C., saying the operations are necessary to combat crime and advance his administration's immigration priorities.

Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat who works with a Republican-majority legislature, warned that the "vast majority" of people detained in similar operations have no criminal convictions and that some detained individuals have been U.S. citizens. "If you see any inappropriate behavior, use your phones to record and notify local law enforcement, who will continue to keep our communities safe long after these federal agents leave," Stein said.

Charlotte officials noted the city is a Democratic stronghold with an estimated 150,000 foreign-born residents; the city's population is roughly 40% white, 33% Black, 16% Hispanic and 7% Asian.

The Trump administration has cited this summer's fatal stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte light-rail train to argue that Democratic-led cities fail to protect residents from violent crime; authorities have charged a man with a lengthy criminal record in that case.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department emphasized that it lacks authority to enforce federal immigration laws and that it is not involved in planning or carrying out any federal immigration operation.

Council member-elect JD Mazuera Arias, a Colombian-born naturalized U.S. citizen, said he understands the fear caused by a sudden knock at the door and pledged that local resources and tax dollars will not be used for immigration-enforcement operations. He criticized sweeps like those conducted in Chicago as motivated by "quotas" and "control," not by public safety.

"Our Queen City will not become a staging ground for fear," the incoming councilman said. "We will not confuse cruelty with safety. And we will not allow the politics of intimidation to define who belongs here."

Cameron Pruette, executive director of Charlotte's Freedom Center for Social Justice, urged residents to support immigrant-owned businesses and to "peacefully and prayerfully and with moral clarity take action in this moment."

"We have seen Border Patrol use helicopters on civilian buildings and not apologize," Pruette added. "This is about the color of someone's skin, about where they come from, and about causing fear and division. So, I ask everyone: Take action, stand together, and we will get through this."

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Associated Press reporter Allen G. Breed in Wake Forest, North Carolina, contributed to this report.