Charlotte’s Quiet Resistance: How Community Groups Tracked and Thwarted a Federal Immigration Sweep

Conflicting federal and local messages about a recent Customs and Border Protection (CBP) deployment in Charlotte, North Carolina, underscored an unusual public standoff this week. Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin told residents, "The operation is not over and it is not ending anytime soon," even as a CBP spokesperson earlier asserted that the agency does not discuss "future or potential operations" and Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden announced that CBP had completed its sweep.

A network of community observers — including the sheriff’s office itself — had tracked CBP and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents since their arrival in the region. Local watchers reported seeing a convoy of federal vehicles headed south on I‑85 toward Atlanta before McFadden said agents had left. Activists later posted video of a 47‑vehicle convoy departing the area.

Grassroots monitoring and early-warning patrols

Rather than mass street confrontations, Charlotte responded with what organizers describe as a southern-style, polite but pointed resistance: neighborhood patrols, vehicle surveillance and coordinated alerts to warn people heading to work and school. Andrew Willis Garcés, senior strategist at Siembra NC, said thousands of volunteers had already been trained to observe and report ICE activity across North Carolina and shifted their focus to protecting neighborhoods when CBP arrived.

Volunteers followed federal vehicles, logged license plates and vehicle types, and monitored hotels and public parking areas for staging activity. In some cases activists used horn-honking to warn potential targets; Border Patrol agents reportedly arrested two women who had been honking in a truck and forced entry to detain them.

Patterns, politics and legal constraints

Through coordinated observation, groups such as Siembra NC and Indivisible say they've identified patterns — for example, agents frequently target work trucks and other vehicles during early-morning hours. Organizers argue that knowing these patterns allows communities to communicate more effectively about risks and protect people traveling to jobs and school.

Local government responses were cautious. Officials issued statements expressing support for immigrant residents and advised city entities to limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement where possible. Sheriff McFadden, who campaigned on a promise of noncooperation with ICE, emphasized he must still follow state law. North Carolina’s Criminal Illegal Alien Act, effective October 1, requires sheriffs to notify ICE and hold someone for up to 48 hours if ICE requests detention.

On national television, CBP's chief agent Gregory Bovino dismissed local resistance as "cultlike," calling protests "cult behavior" and questioning participants' motives. By contrast, local leaders relied on police and sheriff reports to reassure residents after law-enforcement sources said CBP had departed. Mayor Vi Lyles urged unity, saying the city should support one another in challenging times.

What happened next

Community observers characterized the withdrawal as sudden and possibly strategic; many expected the operation — sometimes referred to informally by locals as "Operation Charlotte’s Web" — to continue into December. Organizers say the visible convoy and on-the-ground activity underline the scale of the deployment even as federal statements seemed to downplay it.

Historical backdrop

Charlotte’s identity as a place of resistance is reflected in its hornet symbol, rooted in Revolutionary War history. British General Charles Cornwallis reportedly described Charlotte as "a damned hornet’s nest" after encountering persistent guerrilla resistance — an image residents invoked as they organized to protect their communities this week.