Charlotte promises to resist pending federal immigration raids: 'Campaign of terror'

Officials successful Charlotte, North Carolina, are preparing for a looming national migration crackdown that they described connected Friday arsenic an invasion, with the metropolis pledging to basal up for migrants against the national raids.

Local leaders encouraged Charlotte residents to protestation peacefully and grounds agents' actions from a distance, condemning the Trump administration's actions successful targeting migrants during sweeps successful different cities crossed the country.

"We are surviving successful the strangest of times," Mecklenburg County Commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell, the granddaughter and woman of immigrants, said connected Friday. "A clip erstwhile a felonious world TV property is occupying the White House. Unfortunately, we person seen this movie before, and present they privation to movie an occurrence of the 'Shock and Awe' amusement present successful our city."

The leaders came unneurotic a time aft Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden announced that national officials notified him that U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents would statesman an migration enforcement cognition successful the assemblage by Saturday oregon aboriginal adjacent week.

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Officials successful Charlotte, North Carolina, are preparing for a looming national migration crackdown that they described arsenic an invasion. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

The assemblage is present gearing up for the types of national actions seen successful different cities, including Chicago and Los Angeles, wherever agents raided section businesses, churches and different venues targeting migrant residents.

"We’ve seen what has taken spot successful different cities crossed this state erstwhile the national authorities gets involved," Democrat authorities Rep. Jordan Lopez said. "We person seen the undisciplined agents pointing weapons astatine unarmed civilians, the indiscriminate rounding up of civilians who are sleeping successful their homes successful the mediate of their nighttime successful Chicago. We person seen the worst of instrumentality enforcement."

Local and authorities officials said they person received nary ceremonial notification from the president's medication astir an cognition for Charlotte. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has affirmed that it does not person the authorization to enforce national migration laws and is not progressive successful readying oregon carrying retired the operations.

Volunteers are being trained by section groups connected however to protestation portion safely documenting immoderate attempts to execute a migrant expanse and notifying migrants of their rights arsenic they hole for the national crackdown.

Héctor Vaca, grooming and migrant justness manager for the radical Action NC, said the assemblage is responding to an "invasion" and "racist run of terror" by the national government.

President Donald Trump has targeted Democrat-led cities for migrant sweeps arsenic portion of his wide deportation agenda. His medication earlier this twelvemonth reversed a Biden medication regularisation that prohibited raids successful delicate areas specified arsenic churches, schools and hospitals.

A motion successful Spanish that reads astatine top: "Know Your Rights" is displayed extracurricular a edifice storefront, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025, successful Charlotte, North Carolina. (Getty Images)

Trump has besides sent the National Guard into Democrat-run cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., to enactment migration agents and respond to anti-ICE protests, though the deployment of the troops has prompted ineligible challenges by authorities officials.

Democrat Gov. Josh Stein argued connected Friday that the "vast majority" of radical detained successful the national sweeps person nary transgression convictions, including immoderate who are American citizens.

"If you spot immoderate inappropriate behavior, usage your phones to grounds and notify section instrumentality enforcement, who volition proceed to support our communities harmless agelong aft these national agents leave," Stein said. "That’s the North Carolina way."

Council member-elect JD Mazuera Arias, a Colombian who grew up successful the U.S. and became a naturalized national successful 2021, said helium knows each excessively good astir fearing a sound astatine the doorway and promised that section resources and taxation wealth volition not beryllium allocated toward migration enforcement operations. The Democrat said sweeps successful different cities person been astir "quotas" and "control" alternatively than nationalist information oregon locking up hardened criminals.

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North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein noted that the "vast majority" of radical detained successful the national sweeps person nary transgression convictions, including immoderate who are American citizens. (Getty Images/Allison Joyce)

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"Our Queen City volition not go a staging crushed for fear," the incoming councilman said. "We volition not confuse cruelty with safety. And we volition not let the authorities of intimidation to specify who belongs here."

Cameron Pruette, enforcement manager of Charlotte's Freedom Center for Social Justice, encouraged residents to store astatine immigrant-owned businesses and to "peacefully and prayerfully and with motivation clarity instrumentality enactment successful this moment."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.