Charlotte prepares for federal immigration raids officials slam as ‘invasion’

Officials in Charlotte, North Carolina, are preparing for an impending federal immigration crackdown that they described Friday as an invasion, and the city has vowed to support immigrants against federal raids.

Local leaders condemned the Trump administration’s actions to target immigrants during sweeps in other cities across the country, encouraging Charlotte residents to protest peacefully and record agents’ actions remotely.

“We are living in the strangest of times,” Mecklenburg County Commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell, granddaughter and wife of immigrants, said Friday. “It’s a time when a criminal reality TV personality has invaded the White House. Unfortunately, we’ve seen this movie before, and now they want to film an episode of ‘Shock and Awe’ right here in our city.”

The leaders met a day after Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden announced that federal officials had informed him that U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents would launch an immigration enforcement operation in the area on Saturday or early next week.

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The community is now bracing for the type of federal action seen in other cities, including Chicago and Los Angeles, where agents raided local businesses, churches and other venues targeting immigrant residents.

“We saw what happened in other cities across this country when the federal government stepped in,” said Democratic State Rep. Jordan Lopez. “We have seen undisciplined agents pointing guns at unarmed civilians, indiscriminately rounding up sleeping civilians in their homes in the middle of the night in Chicago. We have seen law enforcement at its worst.”

Local and state officials said they had received no official notification from the president’s administration about an operation against Charlotte. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department confirmed that it has no authority to enforce federal immigration laws and was not involved in planning or executing the operations.

Volunteers are trained on how to protest attempts by local groups to safely document immigration screening and inform immigrants of their rights in preparation for a federal crackdown.

Héctor Vaca, director of education and immigrant justice for the group Action NC, said the community was responding to the federal government’s “invasion” and “campaign of racist terror.”

President Donald Trump has targeted Democratic-led cities for immigrant influxes as part of his mass deportation agenda. Earlier this year, his administration reversed the Biden administration’s rule banning raids on sensitive sites such as churches, schools and hospitals.

A sign with the words “Know Your Rights” written across the top in Spanish is displayed outside a restaurant window on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025, in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Getty Images)

Trump also sent the National Guard to Democratic-run cities including Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C. to support immigration agents and respond to anti-ICE protests; but the deployment of troops sparked legal challenges from state officials.

Democratic Gov. Josh Stein said Friday that the “vast majority” of people detained in federal operations, including American citizens, have no criminal convictions.

“If you encounter any inappropriate behavior, use your phones to record and notify local law enforcement who will continue to keep our communities safe after these federal agents are gone,” Stein said. “It’s the North Carolina way.”

Council member-elect J.D. Mazuera Arias, a Colombian who grew up in the U.S. and was naturalized in 2021, said she knows all too well to fear a knock on the door and promised that local resources and tax money would not be allocated to immigration enforcement operations. The Democrat said the sweeps in other cities are about “quotas” and “control” rather than public safety or incarcerating hardened criminals.

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North Carolina Governor Josh Stein stated that the “vast majority” of people detained in federal operations do not have any criminal convictions, and some of them are American citizens. (Getty Images/Allison Joyce)

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“Our Queen City will not be the scene of fear,” the new councilor said. “We will not confuse tyranny with security. And we will not let the politics of intimidation determine who belongs here.”

Cameron Pruette, executive director of Charlotte’s Social Justice Freedom Center, encouraged residents to shop at immigrant-owned businesses and “take action right now, peacefully, prayerfully and with moral clarity.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.