Local Leaders Respond to Potential CBP Deployment in Charlotte

Community members, elected officials, law enforcement and advocacy organizations are scrambling for answers following reports on Tuesday that US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is planning to deploy agents to the Queen City for a mass deportation operation the agency is calling “Charlotte’s Web.” 

CBS News was the first to report that, as CBP wraps up a similar operation in Chicago, the agency is eyeing Charlotte and New Orleans as potential locations for its next crackdown. 

While CBP itself is staying tight-lipped about what city its agents will focus on next, the reports have garnered responses from a number of local leaders. 

The Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office released a statement Tuesday clarifying that Sheriff Garry McFadden had heard nothing from the agency and confirmed that CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings hadn’t either. 

“The MCSO has not been contacted by any CBP representatives regarding any potential operations, nor have we been involved in any planning or conversations,” the statement read. 

“Given the current climate surrounding immigration and the potential for violence associated with law enforcement operations at any level, Sheriff McFadden respectfully requests that any CBP activities taking place within Mecklenburg County be communicated to MCSO and local law enforcement in advance along with any relevant updates or points of contacts. This will help ensure the safety of all parties involved.”

A number of elected officials also released a joint statement on Tuesday voicing their solidarity with Charlotte’s immigrant community and clarifying some technicalities around what certain local bodies of government and agencies can and cannot do. 

Signed by Charlotte City Council at-large rep Dimple Ajmera, NC Rep. Jordan Lopez, City Council District 5 rep-elect JD Mazuera Arias, NC Sens. Mutjaba Mohammed and Caleb Theodros, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education at-large rep Liz Monterrey Duvall, and Mecklenburg County commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell, the letter was aimed at “ensuring accurate information is shared, keeping lines of communication open, and doing everything within our authority to protect the safety and dignity of all residents.” 

“As elected officials, some of us immigrants ourselves and others deeply connected to immigrant communities, we understand the hopes and challenges that many of our neighbors face,” the letter read. “We understand the fear and uncertainty that news like this can bring, especially across neighborhoods where immigrants have built homes, raised families, and contributed so much to the life of our county and city.” 

The statement emphasized that local and state governments do not control nor direct operations carried out by agencies under the Department of Homeland Security, including CBP and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

It went on to clarify that CMPD has no authority to enforce federal immigration law and does not participate in ICE or CBP operations. According to the letter, CMPD officers are not required to ask about immigration status and will only become involved when criminal behavior or warrants fall under their jurisdiction.

“Immigrants make Charlotte stronger. More than 150,000 foreign-born residents live in our city, contributing billions to our economy and enriching every neighborhood with culture, hard work, and hope,” the statement continued. 

“We recognize the fear and uncertainty these reports have caused, and we commit to continue sharing verified information and connecting families to trusted resources. We will work together to make sure every person in Mecklenburg County and Charlotte feels seen, safe, and supported.” 

What Charlotte can expect

CBP commander Greg Bovino launched Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago in early September, deploying around 200 agents whose heavy-handed tactics have drawn the ire of local residents and elected officials. 

The agency’s Sept. 30 immigration raid in Chicago of a South Shore apartment building that saw agents repelling from a helicopter followed by camera crew to film it all for social media was investigated by the House committees on the Judiciary and Homeland Security.

“According to media reports, armed federal agents in military fatigues approached or entered nearly every apartment in the five-story, 130-unit apartment building, using flashbang grenades, busting down doors, and pulling men, women and children from their beds. Agents put residents in zip ties and led them to unmarked vans to wait for hours while handcuffed, with children separated from their parents,” committee members wrote.

“It is unacceptable that this violent, heavy-handed immigration enforcement operation put families and children at risk and detained U.S. citizens, while traumatizing an entire community.”

In an interview with the New York Times on the Nov. 12 episode of The Daily podcast, Bovino said he was “extremely proud” of that raid and copped to no wrongful behavior in that or any other action in Chicago. 

During the interview, he also discussed another tactic that has garnered heat from communities in Chicago and Los Angeles, a tactic his agents can be expected to use if they arrive in Charlotte in full force: the profiling of people his agents believe could be undocumented immigrants. 

Bovino said his agents are trained to detain folks based on “reasonable suspicion,” which is a lower threshold than probable cause. He denied that his agents will detain someone solely for speaking Spanish. 

“We don’t look at any one thing, we like a compendium,” Bovino said, adding that if a person runs then agents will often detain them. 

Advocates in Los Angeles have reported that CBP and ICE agents will aggressively run directly at people then take them down if they try to avoid the agent, citing their natural response as suspicious behavior. 

When asked directly about where he would be taking his forces next in Wednesday’s interview, Bovino replied, “That’s the million-dollar question here, that’s the million-dollar question. All I can say is stay tuned.”

Residents around Charlotte are also mobilizing in preparation for the arrival of a large CBP force. More than 400 people joined the monthly virtual forum held by CharlotteEAST on Wednesday afternoon to discuss what will come next. 

As a nonprofit that serves east Charlotte, home to the city’s most concentrated Hispanic population, organizers with CharlotteEAST are expecting a heavy CBP presence in their neighborhoods if the agency does implement Charlotte’s Web. 

Read more: NC’s Latest Anti-Immigration Legislation Adds to the Culture of Fear

During Wednesday’s virtual session, community organizers with immigration advocacy groups spoke about how they’re planning for a federal presence in Charlotte, as did elected officials and others. 

Immigration attorney Jamilah Espinosa, who spoke during Wednesday’s forum, also appeared on WFAE’s Charlotte Talks on Tuesday, where she discussed backlogs in the immigration courts amid President Donald Trump’s crackdown. 

Referencing the Trump administration’s claims that undocumented immigrants do not deserve the right to due process, Espinosa on Tuesday gave a chilling warning about why the immigration crackdowns happening in Charlotte and elsewhere should concern everyone.  

“[White House Chief of Staff] Stephen Miller and the Trump administration want the nation to believe, Americans to believe, that the Constitution does not apply to all,” she said. “But that’s not how it was written; the Founders intended it to protect everyone that was present in the United States.

“The immigration court system is a test of our commitment to due process … it’s not just about immigration,” she continued. “This is about the rights of all individuals … Today it’s the migrants and tomorrow it could be another group of people.”