Conflicting Reports Surround Federal Immigration Operation in Charlotte
While local officials in Charlotte, including Mayor Vi Lyles and Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden, assert that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents have vacated the area, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) maintains that the “Charlotte’s Web” operation remains active.
The Carolina Migrant Network has noticed a significant decline in hotline activity, dropping from an average of 150 daily calls during the operation’s peak to approximately 30 calls since Friday. Despite this, DHS continues to reassure WFAE and the public via social media that the enforcement action is “not over and is not ending anytime soon.”
Becca O’Neill of the Carolina Migrant Network criticizes this messaging as harmful. “Assuming they’re gone, they refuse to confirm that, which just serves to further terrorize communities that have been so devastated by this,” she stated.
On Thursday, both Mayor Lyles and Sheriff McFadden declared the departure of CBP agents from the city. Mayor Lyles expressed relief for the community, saying, “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” on Twitter.
Part of the confusion arises from ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activities, which some residents mistakenly associate with CBP. Immigration attorney Jamilah Espinosa explains, “ICE has always had an office here in Charlotte, and has been operating in detaining individuals. The confusion is people are not understanding that there’s CBP and then ICE.”
Espinosa suggests that DHS’s insistence on the operation’s continuation may be a deliberate tactic. “On the more national scale, that led to a narrative that the citizens of Charlotte who did not want CBP here had won,” she noted. “They seek to scare individuals.”
As of Sunday, CBP Commander Greg Bovino reported that 400 individuals had been detained since the operation commenced.
