With CBP Leaving Charlotte, Residents Shift Focus to Supporting Affected Communities

Over the past six days, as Customs & Border Protection (CBP) activity has continued throughout the city, focusing on Hispanic-heavy communities like those along the Central Avenue corridor, businesses that serve those communities have suffered. 

The closure of Manolo’s Bakery on Saturday afternoon made headlines, and the location has since become a gathering space and community hub for young people protesting CBP’s presence in Charlotte. 

In the time that’s followed, countless other businesses along the Central Avenue corridor and elsewhere in east and southwest Charlotte have quietly closed their doors as well, sacrificing their livelihoods for the safety of their staff and clientele.

While it was reported earlier this week that CBP would wrap its Charlotte’s Web operation on Friday, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden confirmed around noon on Thursday that the agents participating in the operation had already left town earlier that day.

UPDATE: While officials with the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office and CMPD have claimed CBP has informed them its agents are leaving the area, the assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday denied such reports, posting to Twitter, “Wrong. Operation Charlotte’s Web isn’t ending anytime soon.”

The most recent reports from DHS state that CBP agents seized more than 250 people during their five days in Charlotte. 

While Immigrations and Customs Enforcement will continue to operate in the Charlotte area regardless of CBP’s presence, community leaders and organizations will likely begin shifting focus to assisting those communities that have been targeted by CBP’s aggressive operation. 

During a virtual press conference of faith leaders from across North Carolina on Thursday morning, Rev. Amanda Weatherspoon, settled minister of the Unitarian Universalist Community of Charlotte, emphasized that the end of Charlotte’s Web will not be the end of the community work as her church continues to push back on what she called “modern fascism.” 

“Of course after Border Patrol leaves there will be so much work to do in supporting the impacted communities, providing mutual aid, rapid response and legal support as well as community care, which is the responsibility of every single faith community and house of worship,” Weatherspoon said. “To show up for the communities in which we live is the work of the church. And that work continues.”  

Kenneth H. Carter, Jr., resident bishop of the Western North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church and once the longtime pastor at Providence United Methodist Church, echoed Weatherspoon’s calls for service from the church. 

Carter pointed out that the United Methodist Church is a “purple church,” welcoming congregants of all political stripes, but insisted that what has happened over the last week in Charlotte should not be viewed as a political issue but an “altar call” for service from churchgoers and community members. 

“The presence of Border Patrol in a state like North Carolina has led to fear and anxiety, the separation of families, loss of work, and loss of the ability to gather for worship,” Carter said. “As citizens of this state, everyone on this call has funded the presence of the Border Patrol here, and yet I sense an emerging consensus and I see a deep resistance to what is happening.

“I’m praying for a better Charlotte, a better North Carolina, the fulfillment of the dreams of all these siblings who came to this state as many of us did to seek a better life and to love living here and I believe God is going to write a new and better story,” he continued. 

With CBP leaving Charlotte, what does community support look like?

The Dilworth United Methodist Church in Dilworth was packed on Wednesday evening as citizens from all backgrounds learned how to defend neighbors and themselves against federal immigration enforcement, be it ICE or CBP.

During the training, volunteers learned to walk in twos and blow a whistle three times whenever they see ICE or CBP agents, shouting “La Migra esta aqui!” (“ICE is here”). Participants were trained about the First, Third, and Fourth amendments, specifically the right to demand a warrant, to not be searched without one’s consent, and to film law enforcement in action without being harassed or having one’s phone taken.

“For most congregants, this is about oppression and injustice, this is a faith thing, not a politics thing,” said Rev. Michelle Chappell, senior pastor at Dilworth UMC. “We feel it through friends who don’t show up at work, undocumented or otherwise.”

As CBP leaves Charlotte, residents will be looking for ways to support the businesses that were harmed by the abrupt actions of federal agents over the past week. 

CharlotteEAST is a nonprofit that works in the interest of residents, business owners and workers in east Charlotte, specifically the greater Eastland area along the Albemarle Road and Central Avenue corridors. 

The area is home to more than 656 commercial storefronts, 424 of which are occupied by independently owned businesses. CharlotteEAST executive director Greg Asciutto estimated that about 70% of those are owned by first- or second-generation immigrants. 

With a population that is 32.9% Hispanic, more than double the percentage in Mecklenburg County as a whole (15.2%), CBP agents have spent much of their time in the area since Saturday. Restaurants, bars, salons, used tire shops, convenience stores — so many businesses have decided to shut down indefinitely rather than subject staff members to the dangers that come with a federal force hellbent on accosting anyone who looks Latino.

Based on responses to an online survey of local business owners, Asciutto estimates that businesses that have closed their doors are losing an average $2,500 per day, with multiple businesses stating they are losing out on $5,000 every day that their location is closed. 

CharlotteEAST has put together a comprehensive list of small businesses in its coverage area that have been disproportionately impacted by the CBP’s operations. Asciutto suggests checking on social media or calling each one before patronizing to make sure they aren’t closed while federal immigration enforcement is in town. 

With Thanksgiving in just a week, he also recommends that shoppers purchase their meal’s ingredients from one of a number of locally owned grocery stores in the east Charlotte area that have been hurt by a decline in traffic this week: Dany’s Supermarket on The Plaza, MANA International Supermarket on Albemarle Road, Sav/Way Foods Latin Supermarket on Central Avenue, or Compare Foods, with locations on Milton Road and North Sharon Amity Road. 

Charlotte City Council District 3 rep-elect Joi Mayo, also co-founder of the Transforming Nations Ford community organization, released a list of immigrant-owned businesses in her district that could use some help from customers: Fortune Garden, Best Price Appliances Sale/Repair, Punta Cana Dominican Restaurant, Pollo Royal, Alicia’s Kitchen, Morazan Restaurant, Moda City Tailor & Design, Lempira Restaurant, Lupita’s Tortilleria, O’Daly’s Bakery, Supermercado El Rey, Costa Del Sol #4, and Compare Foods. 

Mayo also suggested that folks interested in volunteering to help families who may need help with groceries, rides and essential errands apply to assist here, adding that any applicants will be screened and trained before being allowed to work with the public. 

“During moments like this, our community must move with compassion and clarity,” Mayo said. 

Read more: Protesters Call Out Home Depot, Hendrick for Empowering CBP Crackdown

In a statement on Thursday afternoon, Mayor Vi Lyles addressed the news that CBP agents had left the city.

“It appears that U.S. Border Patrol has ceased its operations in Charlotte. I’m relieved for our community and the residents, businesses, and all those who were targeted and impacted by this intrusion,” she wrote. “As we move forward, it is essential that we come together — not as separate groups divided by recent events, but as one Charlotte community.

“Our strength has always come from our ability to support one another, especially in challenging times,” she continued. “I am calling on all members of our community to join in this effort. Let us stand together, listen to one another, and recommit ourselves to the values of dignity, compassion, and unity that define our city. Charlotte is strongest when Charlotte stands as one.”

At a Monday meeting of the Budget, Governance and Intergovernmental Relations Committee on Monday, members voted unanimously to send a proposal to the full city council that would increase funding for community organizations that work with the immigrant community. 

Council will vote on that and a separate proposal to launch a know-your-rights educational campaign related to engaging with federal agents at its Nov. 24 meeting. Stay tuned for coverage of that meeting in our Council Quickies coverage. 

Heather Mims contributed reporting to this article.