Charlotte turns into newest Democratic-run metropolis to be focused by Trump’s anti-immigration offensive | EUROtoday

Charlotte in North Carolina has turn out to be the newest Democratic-run metropolis to be focused by President Donald Trump’s anti-immigration offensive.

Agents had been noticed making arrests throughout town Saturday, because the Department of Homeland Security confirmed the motion.

“We are surging DHS law enforcement to Charlotte to ensure Americans are safe and public safety threats are removed,” Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin mentioned in a press release.

The Trump administration has ramped up deportation efforts in Democratic-led cities throughout the nation, together with Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland.

Charlotte is a racially various metropolis of greater than 900,000 residents, together with greater than 150,000 who’re foreign-born, in keeping with native officers.

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The metropolis’s Democratic Mayor, Vi Lyles, criticized the motion and mentioned it precipitated “unnecessary fear and uncertainty” in a press release, additionally signed by County Commissioner Mark Jerrell and Stephanie Sneed of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg schooling board.

“We want people in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County to know we stand with all residents who simply want to go about their lives,” mentioned the assertion.

The federal authorities hadn’t beforehand introduced the push. But Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden confirmed earlier this week that two federal officers had instructed him that Customs brokers could be arriving quickly.

Paola Garcia, a spokesperson with Camino — a bilingual nonprofit serving households in Charlotte — mentioned she and her colleagues have noticed a rise in Border Patrol and ICE brokers pulling individuals over since Friday.

“Basically what we’re seeing is that there have been lots of people being pulled over,” Garcia mentioned. “I even saw a few people being pulled over on the way to work yesterday, and then just from community members seeing an increase in ICE and border patrol agents in the city of Charlotte.”

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Willy Aceituno, a Honduran-born U.S. citizen, was on his option to work when he noticed Border Patrol brokers chasing individuals.

“I saw a lot of Latinos running. I wondered why they were running. The thing is, there were a lot of Border Patrol agents chasing them,” he mentioned.

Aceituno, a 46-year-old Charlotte resident, mentioned he himself was stopped — twice — by Border Patrol brokers. On the second encounter, they compelled him out of his car after breaking the automotive window and threw him to the bottom.

“I told them, ‘I’m an American citizen,” he instructed The Associated Press. “They wanted to know where I was born, or they didn’t believe I was an American citizen.”

Finally he was allowed to go free after exhibiting paperwork that proved his citizenship.

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North Carolina Rep. Alma S. Adams mentioned she was “extremely concerned” in regards to the deployment of federal brokers to Charlotte two days prior.

“Charlotte’s immigrant community is a proud part of the Queen City, and I will not stand by and watch my constituents be intimidated or harassed,” Adams mentioned.

Gregory Bovino, the highest Border Patrol official overseeing the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, responded to Adams in a submit on X.

“Immigrants rest assured, we have your back like we did in Chicago and Los Angeles,” Bovino mentioned. “Rep. Adams, perhaps you & Gov. STEIN should learn the difference between an illegal alien & an immigrant.”

The Associated Press contributed reporting