President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration reached Charlotte, North Carolina, on Saturday.
Federal authorities said agents were making arrests in the city as efforts to protect American citizens from criminal illegal aliens continue, Newsmax reported Sunday.
In a statement, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin said, “Americans should be able to live without fear of violent criminal illegal aliens harming them, their families, or their neighbors. We are sending DHS law enforcement to Charlotte to ensure that Americans are safe and that threats to public safety are eliminated.”
Officials with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have dubbed the crackdown “Operation Charlotte’s Web,” according to NBC News.
According to the outlet, DHS “said that nearly 1,400 people detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement across North Carolina were “disrespected,” meaning that those people were returned “to the streets of North Carolina because of the shelter-in-place policies.”
The video shows U.S. Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino outside a Charlotte store with other agents as they make arrests. Several people filming them criticize what they are doing. One person says, “I bet he was grocery shopping,” to which Bovino responds, “Maybe. Criminals are grocery shopping. They have to eat, too.”
In a statement regarding the troop surge, Mecklenburg County Republican Party Chairman Kyle Kirby criticized Democratic leaders, saying they have “abandoned their duty to uphold law and order” and are also “demonizing the brave men and women of federal law enforcement,” according to a report by Newsmax.
“Let’s be clear: President Trump was mandated in the 2024 election to secure our borders. Individuals who are in this country legally have nothing to fear,” he added.
Several Charlotte officials and community leaders have said they will oppose the crackdown on immigration in their area, calling it an “invasion,” the Associated Press (AP) reported Friday.
According to an NBC article, “Community organizations reported an increased presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and CBP officers along multiple corridors, including South Boulevard, Archdale, Arrowood, Central Avenue, Rosehaven and Sharon Amity, beginning early Saturday morning.”