CBP Activates in Charlotte as Community Members Rally in Protest
Dozens of arrests reported in east and southwest Charlotte
With dozens of Customs & Border Protection (CBP) arrests reported throughout the city on Saturday, hundreds of community members hit the streets of Uptown to voice their solidarity with immigrant neighbors and decry the federal agency’s presence in Charlotte.
WFAE reporter Nick de la Canal filmed the first confirmed sighting of CBP in Charlotte at 10:15 a.m. on Saturday at a shopping center at Central Avenue and Rosehaven Drive. He said he had gone to the shopping center to check out rumors that arrests had been made there earlier in the morning and ended up seeing another one take place.
The Charlotte Observer reported on incidents in which a teenage employee was dragged out of a Super G grocery store in Pineville and a man was taken from the yard of a church in east Charlotte while his wife and child were inside.
Charlotte City Council District 3 rep-elect Joi Mayo sent out an email addressing the multiple arrests she said were reported in her southwest Charlotte district as well.
“These actions have created fear and uncertainty for many families, workers, and small business owners,” Mayo wrote. “I stand with other CharMeck leaders by reinforcing that Charlotte is a welcoming city, and our immigrant communities are essential to the strength and vibrancy of District 3. Sudden, heavy-handed actions do not make us safer; they disrupt families, harm local businesses, and erode trust across our community.”
Mayo was referring to a joint statement put out by representatives from Charlotte City Council, the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools on Saturday morning that voiced solidarity with the immigrant community.
“The expected U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (commonly called ‘Border Patrol’) operations are causing unnecessary fear and uncertainty in our community as recent operations in other cities have resulted in people without criminal records being detained and violent protests being the result of unwarranted actions,” the statement reads.
“We want people in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County to know we stand with all residents who simply want to go about their lives, contributing to our larger community,” it continues. “Each of our organizations have made commitments to the people we serve to protect their rights and dignity. We are committed to following the law and to protecting the rights of all people who call Charlotte and Mecklenburg County home.”
You can read the full statement here.
Community members protest in Uptown
Protesters gathered at First Ward Park on Saturday afternoon to rally in support of the immigrant community at around 2 p.m., hearing speeches from organizers with the NC Poor People’s Campaign, Seeking Justice Charlotte, and the Party for Socialism and Liberation, among others.
The crowd then marched through Uptown in a peaceful demonstration, with police blocking off traffic as they moved through the city.
Kass Ottley, founder of Seeking Justice Charlotte, said the protests were targeted at the Trump administration, Border Patrol, and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “to let them know that we don’t want them in our city.”
“We didn’t request them, we didn’t ask for them, and they’re not welcome here,” she said. “The Queen City is one city, and our immigrant population, they’re part of that city. They enrich our city, they work here, they’re our neighbors, they’re business owners, they pay taxes and they need to be respected.”
She said that Saturday’s march marks the beginning of resistance to federal immigration enforcement in Charlotte, with a coalition of organizations joining forces to fight back.
“The energy is great; it’s an energy of unity, it’s a new beginning of us all working together and fighting injustice,” she said. “I’m very excited about that. We all need to come together to fight this fascist regime.”
What to do if you witness a CBP or ICE action
A coalition of organizations called La Migra en NC is directing folks in the Charlotte area to report sightings of federal immigration enforcement to the Carolina Migrant Network hotline at 704-740-7737.
They ask that witnesses keep the SALUTE acronym in mind when reporting immigration enforcement: Size & Strength (number and type of agents), Actions they’re carrying out, Location and direction traveling, Uniforms/clothing/types of vehicles, Time and date of observation, and Equipment and/or weapons.
Carolina Migrant Network (CMN) is an organization that provides pro-bono legal services to individuals in removal proceedings, though they offer other services in the immigrant community such as hosting Know Your Rights clinics and have been working on the ground this weekend, showing up at the scene of CBP actions to learn more about who, if anyone, was apprehended.
The CMN team confirmed its first CBP action at a Home Depot on South Boulevard near East Woodlawn Road at around 9:50 a.m. on Saturday.
Folks who want to receive alerts about immigration enforcement in the area are asked to text “Juntar” or “Join” to 980-336-4996.
