Federal agents have now arrested more than 250 people during a North Carolina immigration crackdown centered around Charlotte, the state’s largest city, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday.
The operation that began over the weekend is the latest phase of Republican President Donald Trump’s aggressive mass deportation efforts that have sent the military and immigration agents into Democratic-run cities — from Chicago to Los Angeles.
Immigration officials have blanketed the country since January, pushing detention counts to all-time highs above 60,000.
Big cities and small towns across the country are targeted daily amid higher-profile pushes in places such as Portland, Oregon, where more than 560 immigration arrests were made in October.
Smaller bursts of enforcement have popped up elsewhere.
The push to carry out arrests in North Carolina expanded to areas around the state capital of Raleigh on Tuesday, spreading fear in at least one immigrant-heavy suburb.
Late Wednesday, Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell said via the social platform X that “border patrol enforcement appears to have been suspended” in the city. DHS did not announce a change to its presence and did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The number of arrests around Charlotte and beyond during what the government has dubbed “Operation Charlotte’s Web” was about double the total announced by DHS officials earlier this week. The department said in a statement that agencies “continue to target some of the most dangerous criminal illegal aliens.”
Their targets include people living in the U.S. without legal permission and those who allegedly have criminal records.
Federal officials have offered few details about those arrested. They’ve also remained quiet about the scope of the enforcement operations across North Carolina and where agents will show up next, keeping communities on edge. --->READ MORE HERE
 |
| Matt Kelley | AP |
Federal officials refute reports that Border Patrol operation had ended
Federal officials said Thursday that the U.S. Border Patrol operation in Charlotte, North Carolina, was “not over,” despite earlier reports that it had concluded.
On the morning of Thursday, Nov. 20, WBTV independently confirmed with federal and law enforcement sources that Border Patrol agents had left Charlotte. The Department of Homeland Security launched “Operation Charlotte’s Web” in Charlotte on Nov. 15 to target undocumented immigrants in the city.
It was believed that the Charlotte operation was tied to the U.S. Border Patrol specifically, but that was no longer clear as of this publication.
At around noon on Thursday, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden explicitly said that the Border Patrol operation had “officially concluded.” The sheriff noted that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (or ICE) was still in the area and would continue its work in the county.
Hours later, however, officials with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security -- the department over Border Patrol -- directly contradicted the sheriff. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Thursday that Operation Charlotte’s Web was still active.
“The operation is not over, and it is not ending anytime soon,” McLaughlin said in a statement.
Homeland Security has not said how long the operation was expected to last.
WBTV reached out to Sheriff McFadden on Thursday afternoon, following the new statement from Homeland Security. The sheriff’s office said it was standing by its initial report of the operation coming to an end.
While McLaughlin insisted that the Charlotte operation was ongoing, it was unclear what exactly that meant.
A separate statement from Homeland Security on Thursday said federal agencies were continuing to target undocumented immigrants with criminal histories “as Operation Charlotte’s Web progresses.”
It was still believed that the surge of Border Patrol agents who arrived in Charlotte last weekend had left the city on Thursday. Sheriff McFadden told a WBTV reporter that on Thursday morning, federal officials told him Border Patrol agents were gone from the city.
Federal officials did not specify how many Border Patrol agents, if any, remained in the city on Thursday. Sheriff McFadden told WBTV that the federal government isn’t obligated to communicate its plans to local law enforcement.
Homeland Security officials did say that ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection would remain present and operational in Charlotte. It was unclear whether Border Patrol or other federal agencies like ICE would be carrying out Operation Charlotte’s Web going forward. --->READ MORE HERE
If you like what you see, please "Like" and/or Follow us on FACEBOOK here, GETTR here, and TWITTER here.
No comments:
Post a Comment