Trump’s next immigration crackdown will target Charlotte, North Carolina, a sheriff says
CHARLOTTE N C AP The latest city bracing for the Trump administration s immigration crackdown is Charlotte North Carolina which could see an influx of federal agents as early as this weekend a county sheriff declared Thursday Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden stated in a announcement that two federal executives established a plan for U S Customs and Limit Protection agents to start an enforcement operation Saturday or early next week in North Carolina s largest city His office declined to identify those administrators McFadden disclosed details about the operation haven t been disclosed and his office hasn t been appealed to assist Department of Homeland Guard Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin declined to comment saying Every day DHS enforces the laws of the nation across the country We do not discuss future or feasible operations President Donald Trump has defended sending the military and immigration agents into Democratic-run cities like Los Angeles Chicago and even the nation s capital saying the unprecedented operations are needed to fight crime and carry out his mass deportation agenda Charlotte is another such Democratic stronghold A declaration of solidarity from several local and state functionaries estimated the city is home to more than foreign-born people The city s population is about white Black Hispanic and Asian The Trump administration has used this summer s fatal stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutskahas on a light-rail train in Charlotte as proof that Democratic-led cities fail to protect their residents from violent crime A man with a lengthy criminal record has been charged with murder Activists faith leaders and local and state officers say they already started preparing the immigrant region for a crackdown sharing information about support and attempting to calm fears Nearly people participated in a call organized by the group CharlotteEAST on Wednesday The purpose of this call was to create a mutual aid arrangement declared City Councilmember-Elect JD Mazuera Arias CharlotteEAST executive director Greg Asciutto urged residents to connect with groups providing help The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has clarified that it has no authority to enforce federal immigration laws and is not involved in planning or carrying out these operations Mazuera Arias and others noted they had already begun receiving unconfirmed reports of what appeared to be plainclothes officers in neighborhoods and on transit This is specific of the chaos that we also saw in Chicago state Sen Caleb Theodros who represents Charlotte and Mecklenburg County noted Thursday Gregory Bovino the Dividing line Patrol chief who led Customs and Perimeter Protection s latest Chicago operation and was central to the immigration operation in Los Angeles had been coy about where agents would target next The Trump administration s Operation Midway Blitz began in the Chicago area in early September over the objections of local leaders It initially involved limited arrests by U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in the suburbs but expanded to include hundreds of Customs and Confines Protection agents Their tactics grew increasingly aggressive More than people suspected of violating immigration laws have been arrested across the region The Department of Homeland Assurance which oversees both immigration agencies has offered sparse details on the arrests beyond highlighting a handful of people who were living in the U S without legal permission and had criminal records The group Indivisible Charlotte and the Carolina Migrant Structure will train participants Friday on what rights people have when interacting with immigration bureaucrats and how to spot federal immigration agents They re not invariably wearing vests that say ICE revealed Tony Siracusa spokesperson for Indivisible Charlotte The groups will also discuss prospective pop up protests but he stressed that the activists weren t encouraging people to go get arrested Siracusa announced locals are not freaking out but very definitely concerned Daniela Andrade communications director at the Carolina Migrant Configuration noted that organizers canceled a Hispanic heritage festival this year out of concerns about immigration enforcement The group had been holding in-person know your rights sessions for immigrants since the beginning of the year but switched to virtual events even before Thursday s news It s the concern of family separation of being removed from a district where a great number of people have lived here for years she noted Breed announced from Wake Forest North Carolina Associated Press writer Sophia Tareen in Chicago contributed to this assessment Source
