Tensions are high in Charlotte, North Carolina, after a targeted immigration blitz organized by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency over the weekend. Read on for the information about the fallout from this operation.

Over 100 People Arrested in CBP Raids in Charlotte Over the Weekend

At least 130 people were arrested in Charlotte over the weekend as part of an immigration crackdown spearheaded by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Called Operation Charlotte's Web by the DHS, the blitz came as a surprise to local officials who had not been expecting the raids. Unlike other federal enforcement crackdowns in blue cities over the last few months, President Donald Trump had not signaled that Charlotte was going to be next.

This leaves many wondering why Charlotte was put in the limelight over the weekend. Local police note that violent crime has fallen by 20% this year in the largest city in Charlotte, prompting Democrats to frame the operation as a political ploy aimed at distracting voters leading up to next year's midterms.

The events of the weekend have left the city and its residents on edge. Students at East Mecklenburg High School are planning a walkout in an act of protest. The group organizing the walkout said that the goal was to "provide protection and cover to their fellow students of immigrant descent." Students also wore all black to school on Monday to signal their support for the immigrant population.

Apprehension is also spreading in the Charlotte suburb of Huntersville on Monday. Huntersville mayor Christy Clark confirmed that her office has received verified reports of CBP activity in the suburb. The suburb has a high Latino population. Clark said that families are keeping their kids home from school, fearing detainment of the adults in the households.

An immigration attorney based in North Carolina said that some of the individuals detained are being transferred to Georgia detention facilities. Immigration attorney Jeremy McKinney told the media that the detainees are being moved to the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, and the Folkston ICE Processing Center in Folkston. The transfer is happening because North Carolina does not have long-term detention facilities.

Political Motives?

Critics of the Trump administration are calling this a political diversion cooked up by Republicans in advance of the 2026 midterm elections. Democrats have a goal of flipping one of the state's Senate seats. GOP incumbent Sen. Thom Tillis recently pulled out of the race after sparring with President Trump. Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced in July that he is going to run for the seat. The Democrat is a popular political figure in the red state, worrying Republicans that they will lose a crucial seat in the Senate should he prevail.

Democratic state senator Caleb Theodros also called the weekend raids a political stunt. Theodros accused the Republicans of launching the operation in an effort to "shift attention away from their own failures."

On the other side of the political aisle, Republicans in North Carolina are praising the weekend's immigration enforcement operation. The state's GOP leaders released a statement on Monday defending the Trump administration's decision to send the border patrol to Charlotte. The statement also blamed its local Democratic leadership, former Gov. Cooper, and the Biden administration for the "open southern border."

Cooper also weighed in on the raids on Monday, posting a statement on X. He said that communities are being put at risk as the CBP profiles North Carolinians based on what they look like. Cooper pointed out that the operation is diverting federal resources from keeping violent criminals off the streets.

Supreme Court Involvement in Immigration Policy

Also on Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will review the Trump administration's immigration policy that preemptively turns away asylum seekers before they set foot in the U.S. The decision to hear the case marks the first time this term that the highest court in the land will hear arguments on immigration.

The current federal laws mandate that the government process asylum seekers who arrive at official ports of entry. However, President Trump launched a policy during his first term in 2018 that contradicts this law. Known as "metering," the policy allows border agents to turn away potential asylum seekers coming from Mexico.

Immigrant rights group Al Otro Lado filed a lawsuit in California challenging the Trump administration's policy. A San Francisco appeals court recently sided with the migrants, prompting the White House to appeal the case to the Supreme Court. The court said that it will hear arguments next year, with a decision expected by the end of June.

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