Federal immigration enforcement sweeps Charlotte months after Ukrainian refugee killing shocked nation
Federal agents launched a major immigration crackdown in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Saturday.
U.S. Border Patrol agents were seen making arrests across the city of more than 900,000 residents, the Associated Press reported.
The operation is part of a federal push to ensure “Americans are safe and public safety threats are removed,” according to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
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“Americans should be able to live without fear of violent criminal illegal aliens hurting them, their families, or their neighbors,” McLaughlin said in a statement.
However, some local leaders swiftly condemned the raids.
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, along with Mecklenburg County Commissioner Mark Jerrell and Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board member Stephanie Sneed, said in a joint statement the actions are “causing unnecessary fear and uncertainty.”
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“We want people in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County to know we stand with all residents who simply want to go about their lives,” said the statement.
Honduran-born U.S. citizen Willy Aceituno told the Associated Press he saw “a lot of Latinos running” as Border Patrol agents chased them Saturday. He said he was also stopped twice.
The operation comes months after the fatal stabbing of Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, aboard a Charlotte light-rail train.
It also follows similar immigration enforcement raids recently conducted in California, Illinois, Oregon and New York.
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On Friday, local leaders encouraged Charlotte residents to protest peacefully and record agents’ actions from a distance, condemning the Trump administration’s actions in targeting migrants during sweeps in other cities across the country.
“We are living in the strangest of times,” Mecklenburg County Commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell said Friday.
The leaders came together a day after Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden announced that federal officials notified him that U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents would begin an immigration enforcement operation in the community by Saturday or early this coming week.
DHS and Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this report.
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