Charlotte Residents Defend Community as ICE Arrives for Latest Trump Immigration Crackdown

In Charlotte, North Carolina, the Trump administration's latest anti-immigration crackdown garnered headlines over the weekend both for "how inhumane and aggressive" the operations by US Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement were, as one journalist said, and the action that local residents immediately took to protect their neighbors from arrests and raids.

"I just started recording them," said Rheba Hamilton after federal agents pulled up to her house in a vehicle and intimidated two Latino men who were decorating the trees in her yard. "They left."

As the agents pulled away, she yelled, "Get the hell out of my yard, you assholes!"

Hamilton, who told The New York Times she had tried to warn the workers against hanging the Christmas lights due to the deportation operations, said it was "terrifying" to see Border Patrol agents on her property.

"I was concerned about this happening," Hamilton said. "We've got great people here... Nobody's going to regret moving here if you come here with the right kind of heart, and that includes our immigrants."

Hamilton filmed the Border Patrol agents after North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, called on Charlotte residents to "bear witness" to ICE arrests and raids at businesses and homes as the Trump administration launched "Operation Charlotte's Web"—the latest stop on its nationwide attack on immigrant and Latino communities, which has also unfolded in Chicago and other cities.

“If you see any inappropriate behavior, use your phones to record and notify local law enforcement, who will continue to keep our communities safe long after these federal agents leave,” said Stein last week.

Operation Charlotte's Web began as the administration released the names of more than 600 people detained in the Chicago area whose arrests may have violated a court order, and revealed that just 16 of them had an alleged criminal history.

More than 3,000 people in all have been arrested in the Chicago area since ICE and other federal agencies began "Operation Midway Blitz" in September.

Border Patrol Commander-at-large Gregory Bovino reported that at least 81 people were arrested in Charlotte by the end of the weekend, with the mass arrests completed in about five hours, and claimed that those who were taken into custody had “significant criminal and immigration history"—similar claims that have been made about the operations in Chicago.

The local advocacy group Siembra NC said “the most immigrants were arrested in a single day in state history" on Saturday.

The community development group CharlotteEast told the Guardian on Sunday that it had received an "overwhelming" number of reports from residents about Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents in the area, including at places that were previously protected under the Biden administration from immigration enforcement.

“The past two hours we’ve received countless reports of CBP activity at churches, apartment complexes, and a hardware store,” executive director Greg Asciutto told the outlet.

The Charlotte Observer reported that congregants at a church in east Charlotte "scattered into the woods" after masked federal agents arrived and detained a member while the church community was doing yard work.

"The agents asked no questions and showed no identification before taking one man away, whose wife and child were inside at the time," the newspaper reported. "Inside the church, women and children sobbed as they wondered whether their loved ones had been taken."

Sam Stein of the Bulwark noted that community members "got the heads up and ran to the woods to confront ICE agents with, among other things, deafening whistles. ICE responded by threatening to throw gas canisters at them."

Advocates handed out whistles—like those used by many in Chicago in recent weeks—to local residents on Sunday, and hundreds of people packed a training session on Friday night where Carolina Migrant Network advised them on banding together to stop ICE from raiding their communities.

A grocery store, Compare Foods, also announced it would be offering free delivery to keep people from having to venture out while federal agents are in the city.

"For all those customers who don't feel comfortable coming to the store in person, they can shop online, and then we will have it delivered through our delivery service to their home," said Omar Jorge, owner of the local chain.

Manolo's Bakery, meanwhile, closed over the weekend for the first time in its 28-year history, with owner Manolo Betancur telling the Observer, "We need to protect our families [from] family separation."

Stefania Arteaga of the Carolina Migrant Network told the Guardian that the grassroots weekend efforts show "allies are learning how to help their neighbors" in the city.

"In a scenario where this administration is trying to sow division," she said, "we see an organic movement of community members trying to provide support and assistance.”

Daniel Nichanian of Bolts magazine said Charlotte—which is not near a US border—likely was chosen as President Donald Trump's latest target because of a "war" between ICE and Mecklenburg County Sheriff Gary McFadden, going back to 2018 when McFadden was among five Black Democrats who won sheriff elections in the state on the promise of ending cooperation with ICE.

The agency targeted Charlotte two years later, posting billboards that showed mugshots of immigrants arrested in the area.

As with other cities Trump has targeted for mass deportation operations this year, crime has been falling in Charlotte, with an 8% decrease in overall crime last month compared to a year prior, and a 20% reduction in violent crimes.