RALEIGH, N.C. — A federal immigration crackdown centered on North Carolina’s largest city of Charlotte appeared to be over after less than a week as Border Patrol agents now turn their attention toward New Orleans, where the next big operation is expected.
Federal officials confirmed with Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection operation known as “Operation Charlotte’s Web ” was officially over following hundreds of arrests, the sheriff’s office said Thursday.
No border agent operations will occur on Thursday, the sheriff’s office said. A spokesperson for the Border Patrol agency didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking confirmation of the sheriff’s statement.
The operation that began last weekend was the most recent phase of Republican President Trump’s aggressive mass deportation efforts that have sent the military and immigration agents into Democratic-run cities — from Chicago to Los Angeles.
Federal agents are expected to descend next on New Orleans for operation “Swamp Sweep,” a months-long crackdown in southeast Louisiana. As many as 250 federal troops could arrive as soon as Friday for the operation expected to kick off at the beginning of December.
In North Carolina, agents — some heavily armed in tactical gear and unmarked vehicles — arrested more than 250 people through Tuesday night during the crackdown, Homeland Security officials said Wednesday. Federal officials have offered few details about those arrested.
The push expanded to areas around the state capital of Raleigh on Tuesday. Agents were seen in a suburb where officials say almost 20% of the population was born outside the U.S.
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, a Democrat, said Thursday she was glad the enforcement operation had apparently ended.
“I’m relieved for our community and the residents, businesses, and all those who were targeted and impacted by this intrusion,” Lyles wrote on X. “As we move forward, it is essential that we come together — not as separate groups divided by recent events, but as one Charlotte community.”
Homeland Security leaders have said they brought the large operation to North Carolina because of so-called sanctuary policies that limit cooperation between local authorities and immigration agents.
The crackdown in Charlotte was met with some resistance and protests. About 100 people gathered outside a Home Depot store in Charlotte on Wednesday, where federal agents were spotted multiple times during the surge.
Arrests in Charlotte and the Raleigh area created a chilling effect in immigrant neighborhoods — school attendance dropped, and small shops and restaurants closed to avoid confrontations between customers and federal agents.
Customers at a laundromat in Charlotte left behind their clothes in washers and dryers and ran out the doors after agents showed up over the weekend at nearby stores, said the laundromat’s owner.
Immigration officials have blanketed the country since January, pushing detention counts to all-time highs above 60,000. Big cities and small towns across the country are targeted daily amid higher-profile pushes in places such as Portland, Ore., where more than 560 immigration arrests were made in October. Smaller bursts of enforcement have popped up elsewhere.
Robertson and Seewer write for the Associated Press. Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio.
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