“Operation Charlotte’s Web,” the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) immigration sweep in Charlotte, North Carolina, entered its second day on Sunday, netting more than 80 arrests in roughly five hours. However, video and eyewitness reports are challenging the agency’s tactics, as well as its narrative that only violent criminals are being targeted.
81 arrests in 5 hours
USCBP launched Operation Charlotte’s Web on Saturday, surging Border Patrol agents to North Carolina’s largest city.
In a post to X Sunday morning, USCBP Commander-at-Large Greg Bovino said that 81 people, “many of whom had significant criminal and immigration history,” were apprehended. He added that the arrests took place over the course of five hours, adding that more information about the arrests would be released on social media.
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Bovino followed that post with another, detailing the arrest of a Honduran national who spent four years in prison for multiple simple assaults, shoplifting and an aggravated felony assault.
“Criminal illegal aliens shop too…check out who was walking and shopping amongst American citizens today: a violent repeat offender,” Bovino wrote. “This is why border security matters. This is why we’re in Charlotte.”
Sanctuary policies and challenged narratives
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Operation Charlotte’s Web in a press release on Saturday. The agency claimed that nearly 1,400 unauthorized immigrants who had been released from custody went to North Carolina “because they knew sanctuary politicians would protect them and allow them to roam free on American streets.”
Sanctuary policies refer to some jurisdictions that limit the amount of cooperation and collaboration local law enforcement agencies can provide to federal immigration efforts.
While Bovino and DHS claim that their immigration enforcement operations target unauthorized immigrants with violent criminal histories, the White House has historically refrained from releasing detailed records of all of the people it arrests. Numerous investigations have revealed that the majority of immigrants swept up in federal immigration raids, as well as U.S. citizens, have no criminal record, challenging the government’s narrative.
USCBP skirts local, federal law enforcement
According to local media outlet WCNC, immigration enforcement operations have previously taken place in Charlotte. However, Operation Charlotte’s Web marks the first time that USCBP is operating in the city apart from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
USCBP is also not coordinating with local law enforcement agencies, including the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO).
“The MCSO has not been contacted by any CBP representatives regarding any potential operations, nor have we been involved in any planning or conversations,” the office said in a statement Tuesday. “Given the current climate surrounding immigration and the potential for violence associated with law enforcement operations at any level, Sheriff [Garry] McFadden respectfully requests that any CBP activities taking place within Mecklenburg County be communicated to MCSO and local law enforcement in advance along with any relevant updates or points of contacts.”
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) also said it is not involved in the enforcement operations, citing the fact that ICE arrest warrants are “civil in nature and not criminal,” according to ABC News.
Who’s been affected?
Speaking to The Associated Press, Willy Aceituno, 46, said Border Patrol agents stopped him twice on Saturday. The agents forced him from his vehicle and broke his window during the second encounter.
Aceituno, who was born in Honduras but has U.S. citizenship, was detained in a Border Patrol vehicle before presenting the agents with his documents and being released. “I told them, ‘I’m an American citizen,’” Aceituno told the AP. “They wanted to know where I was born, or they didn’t believe I was an American citizen.”
Meanwhile, agents also approached two men who were hanging Christmas lights for a 73-year-old woman in east Charlotte. The men were not arrested or detained.
“This is real disconcerting, but the main thing is we’ve got two human beings in my yard trying to make a living. They’ve broken no laws, and that’s what concerns me,” said Rheba Hamilton. “It’s an abuse of all of our laws. It is unlike anything I have ever imagined I would see in my lifetime.”
WCNC reports that hundreds of Charlotte residents gathered for a protest on Saturday, similar to those seen in other cities such as Chicago. Asha Patel, a community organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, told the outlet that she hopes the protests will result in USCBP leaving North Carolina’s largest metropolis.
“We’re here to say that we will not tolerate this, and we demand Border Patrol leave our city immediately,” Patel said.
