Border Patrol operations start in Charlotte as officials urge calm

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Federal agents started making arrests Saturday as Border Patrol deployments began in the city, a shift the Department of Homeland Security said was intended to “ensure Americans are safe and public safety threats are removed.”Earlier in the day, local officials sought to reassure residents as the looming operations created anxiety across the region, emphasizing that the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department does not participate in federal immigration enforcement and urging the community to remain peaceful.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Federal agents started making arrests Saturday as Border Patrol deployments began in the city, a shift the Department of Homeland Security said was intended to “ensure Americans are safe and public safety threats are removed.”

Earlier in the day, local officials sought to reassure residents as the looming operations created anxiety across the region, emphasizing that the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department does not participate in federal immigration enforcement and urging the community to remain peaceful.

Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden confirmed earlier this week he learned of Border Patrol’s plans to operate in the city.

DHS, which called the effort Operation Charlotte’s Web, said nearly 1,400 Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers across North Carolina “have not been honored,” meaning those individuals were released back “on to North Carolina’s streets because of sanctuary policies.”

DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said there have been “too many victims” of crimes by undocumented immigrants and that President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem “will step up to protect Americans when sanctuary politicians won’t.”