US Border Patrol arrests 81 on first day of Charlotte immigration crackdown
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People protesting as the authorities conduct raids, expanding their crackdown on illegal immigration, in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Nov 16.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON – Federal agents arrested at least 81 people in Charlotte, North Carolina, over the weekend, a senior commander said on Nov 16, marking a sharp escalation in the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign.
Mr Gregory Bovino, the US Border Patrol official who led immigration crackdowns in Los Angeles and Chicago before arriving in Charlotte this week, said on social media early on Nov 16 that agents made the North Carolina arrests within a roughly five-hour span on Nov 15, their first day of operating in Charlotte
Many of those arrested had “significant criminal and immigration history”, he wrote.
Neither the Border Patrol nor Immigration and Customs Enforcement immediately responded to requests for comment on Nov 16. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees those agencies, did not respond to a request for comment.
Mass deportation and strict enforcement of immigration laws have been a key part of US President Donald Trump’s domestic policy agenda.
Since Mr Trump, a Republican, took office in January, federal immigration agents have carried out raids in largely Democratic-run cities, along with more conservative rural areas.
The efforts have led to large protests in the impacted cities, with citizens often confronting immigration agents as they attempt to detain those suspected of being in the US illegally. Immigration rights groups and others have accused the administration of illegally detaining scores of law-abiding citizens caught up in the raids.
North Carolina Governor Josh Stein, a Democrat, said in a video posted on social media on the night of Nov 16 that undocumented and violent criminals should be deported, saying that “everyone wants to be safe in their community, but the actions of too many federal agents are doing the exact opposite in Charlotte”.
“We’ve seen masked, heavily armed agents in paramilitary garb driving unmarked cars, targeting American citizens based on their skin colour, racially profiling and picking up random people in parking lots and off of our sidewalks,” he added.
“Going after landscapers simply decorating a Christmas tree in someone’s front yard. And entering churches and stores to grab people. This is not making us safer. It’s stoking fear and dividing our community.”
DHS officials said on Nov 15 that the raids in Charlotte were a response to the refusal of local officials to comply with almost 1,400 “detainer” requests by immigration officials to hold suspects for up to 48 hours beyond the time they would ordinarily be released. REUTERS
