Many communities in Charlotte,\u00a0North Carolina, were reeling after federal Customs and Border Protection teams\u00a0descended\u00a0on the city at the weekend and arrested at least 81 people \u2013 while normally-thriving\u00a0immigrant\u00a0enclaves and business districts came to a standstill.<\/p>\n
Federal agents were deployed in what the Department of Homeland Security, the parent agency of Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), calls Operation Charlotte\u2019s Web, sparking protests.<\/p>\n
Charlotte\u00a0is the state\u2019s largest city, home to a steadily growing and diverse population. Over the weekend, videos circulated on social media that showed people being chased or simply picked up\u00a0by federal agents\u00a0outside of various local\u00a0businesses.<\/p>\n
For the first time in 28 years, the popular Manolo\u2019s Bakery\u00a0closed for the weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur city has gone from a thriving city to a standstill,\u201d Charlotte city council member-elect JD Mazuera Arias said in a telephone interview as he drove to the bakery \u201cto be in solidarity\u201d with his community as people came out to demonstrate against the crackdown.<\/p>\n
Related:\u00a0Dozens reportedly arrested in Charlotte, North Carolina, amid immigration crackdown<\/p>\n
Owner Manolo Betancur\u00a0told\u00a0the Charlotte Observer that \u201cwe need to protect our families [from] family separation\u201d, amid various actions by the\u00a0Trump administration\u00a0in its mass deportation agenda that are\u00a0dividing loved ones\u00a0as\u00a0parents\u00a0are\u00a0deported.<\/p>\n
In east Charlotte, a predominantly Latino neighborhood, Willy Aceituno\u00a0captured a video\u00a0of US border patrol agents smashing his car window on Saturday morning, while bystanders\u00a0recorded footage\u00a0of him being pulled out of his pickup truck, thrown to the ground and handcuffed while he shouted: \u201cI am a citizen.\u201d Aceituno, a Honduran-born US citizen, was later released.<\/p>\n
Speaking on the phone from one of the laundromats he owns in east Charlotte on Saturday morning, David Rebolloso fought back tears.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m heartbroken, really,\u201d he said, adding that business has gone down significantly in the last week as reports circulated that Customs and Border Protection was coming to town. Many of his customers are construction workers who use his coin-operated machines to wash their weekly laundry.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are nervous just because of the tactics. Even me. I\u2019m brown-skinned and I\u2019m an American citizen and I\u2019m a [military] vet. But here I\u2019m thinking: should I be carrying my passport with me?\u201d<\/p>\n
In a press statement released on Sunday morning, the advocacy organization Siembra NC said Saturday was when \u201cthe most immigrants were arrested in a single day in state history.\u201d These incidents include citizen reports of landscapers accosted in a\u00a0suburban neighborhood\u00a0in east Charlotte while putting up Christmas decorations.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s unprecedented and a gross violation … There is zero communication about why they are coming here<\/p>\n
JD Mazuera Arias, Charlotte city council member-elect<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
Border protection also arrested a teenage worker at the Super G Mart grocery store, as reported by\u00a0the Charlotte Observer.\u00a0<\/em>Store owner Peter Han told the newspaper that the boy was no older than 16. \u201cThe most appalling thing was: these guys still had the audacity to smile and wave at the camera after \u2026 coming and dragging a boy out, pinning him against the concrete.\u201d<\/p>\n
Democratic governor Josh Stein on Friday had encouraged North Carolinians to \u201cbear witness\u201d and call out any \u201cinjustice\u201d and the arrests are set to continue.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you see any inappropriate behavior, use your phones to record and notify local law enforcement, who will continue to keep our communities safe long after these federal agents leave,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/p>\n
In 2018, five Black Democrats ran for county sheriff offices under the promise of ending cooperation with ICE. They all won, including current Mecklenburg county sheriff Gary McFadden, and severed their counties\u2019 contracts with ICE. In retaliation, ICE launched a 2020 public relations campaign with\u00a0billboards in Charlotte\u00a0showing mugshots of immigrants arrested for crimes.<\/p>\n
McFadden said on Sunday that he was not surprised by federal agents\u2019 actions this weekend. \u201cThis is something I have seen, something I have been battling repeatedly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
McFadden confirmed that his office will not assist ICE or border patrol with law enforcement actions. That also means the county cannot intervene in any federal arrests.<\/p>\n
\u201cBorder patrol are going to do what they are being tasked to do. We cannot stop that,\u201d he said. \u201cI would suggest that people stay out of their way.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sheriff, who is Black, acknowledged that \u201csome communities welcome this\u201d in Mecklenburg county \u201cand the others are living in fear and anxiety for the rest of this week, maybe the rest of this year. Mentally it\u2019s unbelievable to live in fear every day. African Americans can maybe understand it a little better than other people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other local elected officials were also critical.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do not need to have border patrol,\u201d said state representative Aisha Dew at a press conference on Friday. \u201cI\u2019m not quite sure what border we\u2019re patrolling here … We don\u2019t have borders here in North Carolina that need to be protected.\u201d<\/p>\n
That distinction is what council member Mazuera Arias says scares the community most.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis moment feels different because we\u2019ve never had to experience border patrol,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s unprecedented and a gross violation not only of the constitutional rights of immigrants, but of US citizens. There is zero communication about why they are coming here and what is their objective.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the homeland security website highlights its efforts to arrest criminals in this operation, being an undocumented immigrant in the US is legally a civil offense, not a criminal one.<\/p>\n
Immigrants and allied communities began bracing for the worst a week ago. On the heels of aggressive and often violent operations in\u00a0Los Angeles\u00a0and\u00a0Chicago, early rumors quickly circulated that Charlotte would be next.<\/p>\n
Stefan\u00eda Arteaga, co-founder of the\u00a0Carolina Migrant Network, which provides pro bono legal services for detained immigrants, said ICE activity this past spring shook the community. Her organization supported families after a raid in nearby King\u2019s Mountain in April, where\u00a030 people were arrested\u00a0by ICE at the Buckeye Fire Equipment Company. In May, ICE\u00a0swept the city of Charlotte, detaining a man a half a mile from Rebolloso\u2019s laundromat.<\/p>\n
When that happened, Arteaga said, Carolina Migrant Network began conducting verification trainings once a week.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow we\u2019re about to do them every day,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Related:\u00a0Federal immigration officers begin sweep in Charlotte, North Carolina<\/p>\n
\u201cCharlotte has had a heavier ICE presence all of this year,\u201d said Nikki Mar\u00edn Baena, co-director of Siembra NC.<\/p>\n
Rebolloso noticed business slowing down as soon as\u00a0Donald Trump\u00a0began his second term\u00a0promising mass deportation. Many people he knows\u00a0left the country\u00a0out of\u00a0fear.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey would rather forge their own destiny than be picked up by ICE and not know where they are going to wind up,\u201d he said. \u201cFamilies are being separated. A lot of people are nervous and scared.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carolina Migrant Network and Siembra NC both run hotlines for community members to report and verify activity. In a statewide call last Tuesday, several organizations, politicians and community leaders connected to strategize on tapping into collective resources. Hundreds are attending training on legal rights and community patrols are offering rides to work, school and church.<\/p>\n
\u201cAllies are learning how to help their neighbors,\u201d said Arteaga. \u201cI think that\u2019s beautiful. In a scenario where this administration is trying to sow division, we see an organic movement of community members trying to provide support and assistance.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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