Following a recent spike in Border Patrol operations in Charlotte, North Carolina, Governor Josh Stein has criticized the initiative, arguing that it instills fear rather than enhances public safety. The weekend surge resulted in numerous arrests, drawing significant attention and concern.

The Trump administration has targeted this Democratic stronghold, home to roughly 950,000 residents, as part of its intensified immigration enforcement strategy, citing crime reduction as a primary goal. This move has been met with resistance from local officials, especially in light of Charlotte’s decreasing crime rates. Residents have reported sightings of federal immigration officers in various community spaces, including churches, residential areas, and shopping centers.

“We’ve encountered masked, heavily armed agents in paramilitary outfits, driving unmarked vehicles and seemingly targeting American citizens based on racial profiling,” Governor Stein stated in a video address on Sunday evening. “Random individuals are being apprehended from parking lots and sidewalks. Such actions do not contribute to our safety; they foster fear and divide our community.”

While acknowledging the tension these events have caused, Governor Stein urged citizens to remain calm and peaceful. He encouraged people to document and report any suspicious or inappropriate activities to local law enforcement authorities.

The Department of Homeland Security, which supervises Customs and Border Protection, has justified its heightened focus on North Carolina by pointing to so-called sanctuary policies. These policies restrict cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration officials.

Several county jails hold arrested immigrants and honor detainers, which allow jails to turn detainees over to immigration officers. But Mecklenburg County, which includes Charlotte, does not. Also, the city’s police department does not help with immigration enforcement. DHS alleged that about 1,400 detainers across North Carolina had not been honored, putting the public at risk.

Gregory Bovino, who led hundreds of U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in a similar effort in Chicago, documented some of the more than 80 arrests he said agents had made in social media posts on Sunday. He posted pictures of people the Trump administration commonly dubs “criminal illegal aliens,” meaning people living in the U.S. without legal permission who allegedly have criminal records. That included one of a man accused of having a history of drunk driving convictions.

The activity has prompted fear and questions, including where detainees would be held, how long the operation would last and whether the tactics used in North Carolina would be similar to those that were criticized elsewhere as aggressive and racist.

However, some welcomed the effort, including Mecklenburg County Republican Party Chairman Kyle Kirby, who said in a post Saturday that the county GOP “stands with the rule of law — and with every Charlottean’s safety first.”

Bovino’s operations in Chicago and Los Angeles triggered lawsuits over the use of force, including widespread deployment of chemical agents. Democratic leaders in both cities accused agents of inflaming community tensions. Federal agents fatally shot one suburban Chicago man during a traffic stop.

Bovino, head of a Border Patrol sector in El Centro, California, and other Trump administration officials have called their tactics appropriate for growing threats on agents.

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Tareen and Dale reported from Chicago. Witte reported from Annapolis, Maryland.