The Trump administration is facing an internal backlash over brutal immigration tactics in a key purple state.
Aggressive ICE raids in Charlotte, North Carolina, have led to ongoing protests and a disagreement in law enforcement over future raids.
The DHS said they had arrested 130 people in two days, including gang members and violent criminals from the Charlotte community, calling them “some of the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens.”
The operation, dubbed Charlotte’s Web, has provoked concern from Republicans as the immigration sweep is one of the first to take place in a purple state that will help to decide the Senate in next year’s midterm elections.
Last week, a local sheriff claimed the immigration raids were done, only for Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin to insist, “The operation is not over, and it is not ending anytime soon.”
Former GOP Gov. Pat McCrory has spoken out about the optics of masked ICE agents arresting a man who said he was a U.S. citizen at a Charlotte shopping center.
The man had warned locals that Border Patrol was operating in the area before they turned their attention to him.
Gregory Bovino, a senior Border Patrol official, was seen in a Home Depot parking lot with over a dozen officers, stating they were looking for criminals.
“Republicans had the upper hand on immigration, as long as they were going after the criminals and the gangs, but I think they’re losing the upper hand on that issue because of the apparent disjointed implementation of arrest,” McCrory said.
“From a PR and political standpoint, for the first time, immigration is maybe having a negative impact on my party.”
“If I were the administration,” he said, “I would be really emphasizing who they’ve arrested and the negative impact they’ve had on the community, but we’re not hearing that.”
McCrory signed North Carolina’s divisive “bathroom bill” in 2016, which stamped out protections for transgender citizens.
Another Republican, Edwin Peacock III, also said the Charlotte raids were leaving “a real sour aftertaste” with voters.
“Is the price of doing this worth it?” Peacock said. “I don’t see this cloud moving away [from] what will be in the voters’ minds.”
Speaking to CNN’s Jake Tapper, Florida Republican Rep. María Salazar pointed out that 70 percent of people ICE arrested in Georgia did not have a criminal record.
“ICE should be concentrating on the bad hombres,” she said, quoting Trump’s statement when he announced a mass deportation plan.
“We agree, kick out the ones who are bad hombres, the ones who have criminal records, the murderers and the rapists, but do not touch the lady who has been here for 10, 20 years contributing to the economy, those who have been picking up the jalapeno peppers or the dairies or the greenhouses or the slaughterhouses.”
She stated that people were protesting the blanket approach ICE is taking.
“They’re defending those who have been here, contributing, and do not have a criminal record. They’re not defending the Tren de Aragua. So, we got to change directions.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the DHS for comment.
The GOP resistance to the immigration raids in Charlotte follows another case of MAGA infighting.
Trump’s embrace of AI technology and rolling out the red carpet to tech titans risks alienating voters who believe the tech industry is not only threatening their jobs but exposing their children to potential harm.
Texan Republican Angela Paxton helped to get a ban on AI being allowed to create sexual content that featured children.
“We’re coming up on an incredible time of innovation,” Paxton said. “At the same time, I think the job landscape is going to change a lot, and I think a lot of people are asking themselves, ‘What does that mean for me and my family?’”
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