| |
Immigration Agents Expanding to Raleigh11/18 06:07
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Federal immigration authorities will expand their
enforcement action in North Carolina to Raleigh as soon as Tuesday, the mayor
of the state's capital city said, while Customs and Border Protection agents
continue operating in Charlotte following a weekend that saw arrests of more
than 130 people in that city.
Mayor Janet Cowell said Monday that she didn't know how large the operation
would be or how long agents would be present. Immigration authorities haven't
spoken about it. The Democrat said in a statement that crime was lower in
Raleigh this year compared to last and that public safety was a priority for
her and the city council.
"I ask Raleigh to remember our values and maintain peace and respect through
any upcoming challenges," Cowell said in a statement.
U.S. immigration agents arrested more than 130 people over the weekend in a
sweep through Charlotte, North Carolina's largest city, a federal official said
Monday.
The movements in North Carolina come after the Trump administration launched
immigration crackdowns in Los Angeles and Chicago. Both of those are deep blue
cities in deep blue states run by nationally prominent officials who make no
secret of their anger at the White House. The political reasoning there seemed
obvious.
But why North Carolina and why was Charlotte the first target there?
Sure the mayor is a Democrat, as is the governor, but neither is known for
wading into national political battles. In a state where divided government has
become the norm, Gov. Josh Stein in particular has tried hard to get along with
the GOP-controlled state legislature. The state's two U.S. senators are both
Republican and President Donald Trump won the state in the last three
presidential elections.
The Department of Homeland Security has said it is focusing on North
Carolina because of so-called sanctuary policies, which limit cooperation
between local authorities and immigration agents.
But maybe focusing on a place where politics is less outwardly bloody was
part of the equation.
The White House "can have enough opposition (to its crackdown), but it's a
weaker version" than what it faced in places like Chicago, said Rick Su, a
professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law who studies local
government, immigration and federalism.
"They're not interested in just deporting people. They're interested in the
show," he said.
The crackdown
The Trump administration has made Charlotte, a Democratic city of about
950,000 people, its latest focus for an immigration enforcement surge it says
will combat crime -- despite local opposition and declining crime rates.
Residents reported encounters with immigration agents near churches, apartment
complexes and stores.
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement
that Border Patrol officers had arrested "over 130 illegal aliens who have all
broken" immigration laws. The agency said the records of those arrested
included gang membership, aggravated assault, shoplifting and other crimes, but
it did not say how many cases had resulted in convictions, how many people had
been facing charges or any other details.
The crackdown set off fierce objections from area leaders.
"We've seen masked, heavily armed agents in paramilitary garb driving
unmarked cars, targeting American citizens based on their skin color," Stein
said in a video statement late Sunday. "This is not making us safer. It's
stoking fear and dividing our community."
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles said Monday she was "deeply concerned" about videos
she's seen of the crackdown but also said she appreciates protesters'
peacefulness.
"To everyone in Charlotte who is feeling anxious or fearful: You are not
alone. Your city stands with you," she said in a statement.
The debate over crime and immigration
Charlotte and surrounding Mecklenburg County have both found themselves part
of America's debates over crime and immigration, two of the most important
issues to the White House.
The most prominent was the fatal stabbing this summer of Ukrainian refugee
Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte light-rail train, an attack captured on video.
While the suspect was from the U.S., the Trump administration repeatedly
highlighted that he had been arrested previously more than a dozen times.
Charlotte, which had a Republican mayor as recently as 2009, is now a city
dominated by Democrats, with a growing population brought by a booming economy.
The racially diverse city includes more than 150,000 foreign-born residents,
officials say.
Lyles easily won a fifth term as mayor earlier this month, defeating her
Republican rival by 45 percentage points even as GOP critics blasted city and
state leaders for what they call rising incidents of crime. Following the Nov.
4 election, Democrats are poised to hold 10 of the other 11 seats on the city
council.
While the Department of Homeland Security has said it is focusing on the
state because of sanctuary policies, North Carolina county jails have long
honored "detainers," or requests from federal officials to hold an arrested
immigrant for a limited time so agents can take custody of them. Nevertheless,
some common, noncooperation policies have existed in a handful of places,
including Charlotte, where the police do not help with immigration enforcement.
In Mecklenburg County, the jail did not honor detainer requests for several
years, until after state law effectively made it mandatory starting last year.
DHS said about 1,400 detainers across North Carolina had not been honored
since October 2020, putting the public at risk.
For years, Mecklenburg Sheriff Garry McFadden pushed back against efforts by
the Republican-controlled state legislature to force him and a handful of
sheriffs from other urban counties to accept ICE detainers.
Republicans ultimately overrode a veto by then-Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper
late last year to enact the bill into law.
While McFadden has said his office is complying with the law's requirement,
he continued a public feud with ICE leaders in early 2025 that led to a new
state law toughening those rules. Stein vetoed that measure, but the veto was
overridden.
Republican House Speaker Destin Hall said in a Monday post on X that
immigration agents are in Charlotte because of McFadden's past inaction:
"They're stepping in to clean up his mess and restore safety to the city."
Last month, McFadden said he'd had a productive meeting with an ICE
representative.
"I made it clear that I do not want to stop ICE from doing their job, but I
do want them to do it safely, responsibly, and with proper coordination by
notifying our agency ahead of time," McFadden said in a statement.
But such talk doesn't calm the political waters.
"Democrats at all levels are choosing to protect criminal illegals over
North Carolina citizens," state GOP Chairman Jason Simmons said Monday.
|
|
