The state’s mayor said federal immigration authorities will expand enforcement efforts in North Carolina to Raleigh on Tuesday, while Customs and Border Protection agents remain active in Charlotte following a weekend that saw more than 130 arrests.
Mayor Janet Cowell said Monday she didn’t know how big the operation would be or how long staff would be there. Immigration officials haven’t said anything about it. The Democrat said in a statement that crime is down in Raleigh this year compared to last year, and public safety is a priority for him and the City Council.
“I ask Raleigh to remember our values and maintain peace and respect through the challenges ahead,” Cowell said in a statement.
U.S. immigration agents arrested more than 130 people in a raid over the weekend in Charlotte, North Carolina’s largest city, federal officials announced Monday.
The moves in North Carolina come after the Trump administration launched immigration crackdowns in Los Angeles and Chicago. Both are deep blue cities in deep blue states run by nationally prominent officials who make no secret of their anger at the White House. The political reasons there seemed obvious.
But why was Charlotte the first target in North Carolina?
It’s true that the mayor and governor are Democrats, but neither is known for intervening in national political battles. In a state where divided government is the norm, Gov. Josh Stein, in particular, has worked hard to come to terms with the Republican-controlled Legislature. The state’s two U.S. senators are both Republicans, and President Trump won the state in the past three presidential elections.
The Department of Homeland Security said it is focusing on North Carolina because of so-called sanctuary policies that limit cooperation between local governments and immigration authorities.
But perhaps focusing on places where politics was less bloody on the surface may have been part of the equation, some observers say.
Rick Hsu, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law who studies local government, immigration and federalism, said the White House “could have plenty of opposition[to the crackdown]but it’s a weaker version than what we faced in places like Chicago.”
“They’re not just interested in deporting people. They’re interested in the show,” he said.
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The Trump administration has made Charlotte, a Democratic city of about 950,000 people, the latest focus for increased immigration enforcement, saying it will help fight crime, despite local opposition and declining crime rates. Residents reported encounters with immigration officers near churches, apartment complexes, and stores.
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that Border Patrol agents “arrested more than 130 illegal aliens, all of whom violated immigration laws.” The agency said its record of arrests includes charges of gang membership, aggravated assault, shoplifting and other crimes, but did not say how many cases resulted in convictions, how many people were charged or other details.
The crackdown provoked fierce opposition from regional leaders.
“We witnessed heavily armed, masked operatives in paramilitary uniform driving unmarked vehicles and targeting American citizens based on the color of their skin,” Stein said in a video statement late Sunday. “This does not make us safer. It incites fear and divides our communities.”
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles said Monday that he was “very concerned” about the footage he had seen of the oppression, but also said he was grateful for the peaceful demeanor of the protesters.
“To everyone in Charlotte who is feeling anxious and scared: You are not alone and your city stands with you,” she said in a statement.
Debates over crime and immigration
Both Charlotte and surrounding Mecklenburg County are part of the nation’s debate over crime and immigration, two of the most important issues to the White House.
Most famously, this summer, Ukrainian refugee Irina Zalutka was stabbed to death on a light rail train in Charlotte, an incident that was captured on video. The suspect was from the United States, but the Trump administration repeatedly emphasized that he had been arrested more than a dozen times in the past.
Charlotte had a Republican mayor until 2009, but it is now a Democratic-majority city and its population is increasing due to the booming economy. The ethnically diverse city has more than 150,000 foreign-born residents, officials said.
Lyles easily won a fifth term as mayor earlier this month, defeating his Republican rival by 45 points as Republican critics blamed city and state leaders for a so-called increase in crime. After the Nov. 4 election, Democrats are poised to win 10 of the remaining 11 seats on the City Council.
Although the Department of Homeland Security says it focuses on states for sanctuary policies, North Carolina’s county jails have long honored requests from “detainers,” or federal authorities, to detain apprehended immigrants for a period of time so officials can take custody of them. Nevertheless, in a small number of areas, including Charlotte, there are some common non-cooperative policies that prevent police from cooperating with immigration enforcement efforts.
In Mecklenburg County, the jail did not accept detainee requests for several years until state law effectively mandated it starting last year.
DHS said approximately 1,400 detainees across North Carolina have not been memorialized since October 2020, putting the public at risk.
Mecklenburg Sheriff Garry McFadden has long pushed back against efforts by the Republican-led state Legislature to force him and a handful of other sheriffs in urban counties to accept U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees.
Republicans ultimately passed the bill late last year, overriding a veto from then-Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.
McFadden said his office complies with the law’s requirements, but a public feud with ICE leaders continued in early 2025, leading to a new state law tightening its rules. Mr. Stein vetoed the bill, but the veto was overridden.
Republican House Speaker Destin Hall said in a post on X on Monday that immigration agents are coming to Charlotte because of McFadden’s past inactions. “They are stepping in to clean up his mess and restore safety to our city.”
McFadden said he had a meaningful meeting with ICE representatives last month.
“I have made it clear that I do not want to stop ICE’s work, but I want to ensure that ICE does its work safely, responsibly, and with proper coordination by notifying the agency in advance,” McFadden said in a statement.
But such debates do nothing to calm the political waters.
“Democrats at every level are choosing to protect illegal criminals over North Carolinians,” state Republican Party Chairman Jason Simmons said Monday.
Verduzco, Sullivan and Robertson contributed to The Associated Press. Sullivan reported from Minneapolis, Robertson from Raleigh, and North Carolina Associated Press writers Brian Witte in Annapolis, Maryland, and Rebecca Santana in Washington contributed to this report.
