U.S. immigration raids start in Charlotte, North Carolina

Federal authorities performed raids on Saturday (November 15, 2025) within the banking hub of Charlotte, North Carolina, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated, increasing its crackdown on unlawful immigration to the U.S. South.

“We are surging DHS legislation enforcement to Charlotte to make sure Americans are protected and public security threats are eliminated,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin stated in a press release. “There have been too many victims of legal unlawful aliens.”

DHS, which oversees U.S. Customs and Border Protection, didn’t present particulars on the operation, together with what number of legislation enforcement officers took half or the variety of folks detained.

Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, a Democrat, and metropolis commissioners on Saturday (November 15) urged folks to hunt assist, together with from the Charlotte and Mecklenburg County Police Department, which isn’t collaborating within the federal raids. “There are a variety of organizations standing prepared to help people in search of authorized steerage on immigration issues,” town officers stated in a press release.

The anticipated raids brought about worry and uncertainty in Charlotte as a result of comparable operations in different cities resulted in folks with out legal information being detained, they stated.

President Donald Trump, a Republican, has targeted on ramping up immigration arrests in Democratic-led cities, with main pushes in latest months in Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests 956 migrants as a part of Trump’s immigration crackdown

Local leaders earlier this week stated they have been knowledgeable {that a} CBP operation would begin on Saturday (November 15). U.S. Representative Alma Adams, a Democrat, stated on Thursday (November 13) she was “extraordinarily involved” about Border Patrol and ICE personnel coming to Charlotte.

“Charlotte’s immigrant group is a proud a part of the Queen City, and I cannot stand by and watch my constituents be intimidated or harassed,” Ms. Adams posted on X.

Gregory Bovino, a U.S. Border Patrol official who has led Trump’s aggressive crackdown in Chicago since September, responded to Adams that she and North Carolina Governor Josh Stein, a Democrat, “ought to be taught the distinction between an unlawful alien & an immigrant.” Border Patrol brokers in Chicago have helped improve immigration arrests, however protesters and a few residents say they’ve used extreme drive, together with deploying tear gasoline in busy city areas.

A Chicago-based federal decide barred immigration brokers from utilizing some aggressive ways and ordered them to put on physique cameras after movies cited in a lawsuit confirmed violent clashes with protesters.