By GARY D. ROBERTSON, Associated Press
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A federal immigration crackdown based in North Carolina’s largest city that authorities said led to hundreds of arrests is now over, a local law enforcement agency said Thursday.
A news release from the sheriff’s office in Mecklenburg County, which includes Charlotte, said that federal officials have confirmed with Sheriff Garry McFadden that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection operation known as “ Charlotte’s Web,” has officially concluded. No border agent operations will occur on Thursday, the news release said.
The operation that began over the weekend is the latest phase of Republican President Donald Trump ’s aggressive mass deportation efforts that have sent the military and immigration agents into Democratic-run cities — from Chicago to Los Angeles.
A spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection didn’t immediately respond Thursday to an email seeking a response about the sheriff’s statement.
The push to carry out arrests in North Carolina expanded to areas around the state capital of Raleigh on Tuesday, spreading fear in at least one immigrant-heavy suburb.
Late Wednesday, Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell said via the social platform X that “border patrol enforcement appears to have been suspended” in the city.
The number of arrests around Charlotte and beyond was about double the total announced by Homeland Security officials earlier this week. The department said in a statement that agencies “continue to target some of the most dangerous criminal illegal aliens.”
Their targets include people living in the U.S. without legal permission and those who allegedly have criminal records.
Federal officials have offered few details about those arrested. They’ve also remained quiet about the scope of the enforcement operations across North Carolina and where agents will show up next, keeping communities on edge. The crackdown in Charlotte has been met with pockets of resistance and protests.
Immigration officials have blanketed the country since January, pushing detention counts to all-time highs above 60,000. Big cities and small towns across the country are targeted daily amid higher-profile pushes in places such as Portland, Oregon, where more than 560 immigration arrests were made in October. Smaller bursts of enforcement have popped up elsewhere.