Several church members tending to the front garden of a church in east Charlotte fled into woods when agents arrived and detained one man, The Charlotte Observer reported, quoting the church’s pastor.
“We thought church was safe and nothing [was] gonna happen,” a 15-year-old witness told the newspaper.
Officials said there were “a number of organisations standing ready to assist individuals seeking legal guidance on immigration matters”.
The DHS said it was carrying out the operation because North Carolina had failed to adhere to requests to keep nearly 1,400 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees in custody, who had been released due to “sanctuary policies”.
Charlotte is not a sanctuary city – which have policies in place to limit the assistance given to federal immigration authorities – but it is a “certified welcoming city”. This is a formal designation for cities that are committed to immigration inclusion.
“President Trump and Secretary [Kristi] Noem will step up to protect Americans when sanctuary politicians won’t,” the DHS said.
Charlotte is an ethnically diverse city, with about 17% of residents being born outside of the country, according to Data US. , external
DHS has not said how long the raids will last. Chicago’s crackdown, which began in September is still ongoing.
Earlier in the week, US representative and Democrat Alma Adams said she was informed of the operation and was “extremely concerned” about Border Patrol and ICE agents arriving in North Carolina.
The next city on Trump’s list is set to be New Orleans, according to CBS, and that as many as 200 agents could be deployed there.
Operations in previous cities like Chicago and Los Angeles have come under fire over concerns of excessive use of force.
