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RALEIGH, N.C. – A significant immigration enforcement operation in North Carolina has led to the arrest of over 250 individuals, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The crackdown, focused primarily around Charlotte, the state’s largest city, has been unfolding since the weekend.
This initiative marks the latest chapter in former President Donald Trump’s stringent deportation agenda, which has frequently targeted Democratic-controlled cities. Similar operations have been conducted across the country, including in urban centers like Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland, Oregon.
On Tuesday, the scope of the arrests expanded to include areas near Raleigh, the state capital, inciting fear among communities with high immigrant populations. The operation, known as “Operation Charlotte’s Web,” has intensified beyond initial estimates, with the number of detentions nearly doubling since early reports from DHS officials.
According to a statement from the department, the operation aims to apprehend what they describe as “some of the most dangerous criminal illegal aliens.” The targets of these arrests include individuals residing in the U.S. without legal authorization and those suspected of having criminal backgrounds.
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.
The crackdown in Charlotte has been met with pockets of resistance and protests.
About 100 people gathered outside of a Home Depot store in Charlotte on Wednesday where federal agents were spotted multiple times since the surge started. Protest organizers briefly went inside the store with orange and white signs that said, “ICE out of Home Depot, Protect our communities.”
Arrests in Charlotte have created a chilling effect in immigrant neighborhoods — school attendance dropped, and small shops and restaurants closed to avoid confrontations between customers and federal agents.
Fear also spread in parts of Cary, a Raleigh suburb where officials say almost 20% of the population was born outside the U.S. At a shopping center home to family-run ethnic restaurants, there was little traffic and an Indian grocery store was mostly empty on Tuesday.
Just days after beginning the crackdown in North Carolina, Border Patrol agents were expected to arrive in New Orleans by the end of the week to start preparing for their next big operation in southeast Louisiana, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press and three people familiar with the operation..
Around 250 federal border agents are set to descend on New Orleans in the coming weeks for a two-month immigration crackdown expected to begin in earnest on Dec. 1.
Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol commander tapped to head the Louisiana sweep, has been on the ground in North Carolina this week, leading the operation there as well. Bovino has become the Trump administration’s leader of the large-scale crackdowns and has drawn criticism over the tactics used to carry out arrests.
DHS has declined to comment on the operation. “For the safety and security of law enforcement, we’re not going to telegraph potential operations,” spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said.
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Associated Press reporters Erik Verduzco in Charlotte and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.
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