Democratic members of Mecklenburg County’s delegation to the N.C. General Assembly blasted U.S. Customs and Border Protection activity across the county during a Monday press conference.
“This is a racist, bigoted attack on brown-skinned people who have an accent. It has nothing to do about safety. It has nothing to do about keeping Chalotte safe. It has everything about … a political motivation to appease Donald Trump,” Rep. Julia Greenfield, D-Mecklenburg, said Monday.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a Monday press release that CBP's Border Patrol had arrested 130 people in Charlotte over the weekend, including two people the agency described as “known gang members.” Monday evening, INDY Week and The Assembly reported that agents are expected to travel to Raleigh as soon as Tuesday.
Monday’s press conference began around 2 p.m, the same time Gov. Josh Stein had called for a special session to address Medicaid funding. But Republican leaders declined to heed Stein’s call, saying it was unconstitutional for him to call for a special session when the General Assembly is still technically in session.
Despite the lack of a formal legislative meeting, many of the General Assembly’s Democrats headed to Raleigh on Monday.
‘They’re just looking at skin color’
Among those making the trip was Rep. Carolyn Logan, D-Mecklenburg, a four-term lawmaker who represents northwestern Mecklenburg County.
Logan is a retired law enforcement officer, including the first Black woman in the N.C. Highway Patrol, where she worked for more than 30 years. With that background, Logan said she is alarmed that Customs and Border Patrol doesn’t appear to be granting the people they are arresting due process.
“They don’t have any warrants. They’re not looking for anyone in particular. This is just a common case of profiling. That’s what they’re doing. … They’re just looking at skin color,” Logan said.
Republican lawmakers have long been frustrated with Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden’s often-combative relationship with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
When McFadden took office in 2018, he ended an agreement that allowed sheriff’s deputies to perform some immigration enforcement activities. Republican lawmakers have said McFadden has often released undocumented people from the county’s jail before standard ICE detention periods.
That resulted in the General Assembly passing House Bill 318 earlier this year, requiring sheriffs to hold undocumented immigrants for 48 hours past their typical release time and to notify ICE before they are set free.
In a statement posted to X on Monday, Speaker of the House Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, wrote, “Border Patrol is in Charlotte because Sheriff McFadden refused to do his job. His sanctuary policies blocked hundreds of ICE detainers and pushed criminal illegal aliens right back onto the streets.”
Lack of trust and constitutional questions
The Tahoes roaming the city and masked agents inside are causing unrest for many in Charlotte, Logan said. But due to federal authority, there are few measures available to state and local law enforcement can take to protect people from the agents.
“They’re causing a lot of untrust, and people are nervous and they’re scared,” Logan said. “This is not something that law enforcement inflicts among the public. Law enforcement makes people feel safe and secure, and this is not what they are doing.”
Logan also expressed sadness at the situation, recounting a story about how agents chased a man selling flowers on the side of a road into the woods.
“It’s hard to believe that I have supported this country, this state. I point all the time to this flag up here that I salute and believe in and has raised my children, and this today is the United State of America. And it is embarrassing,” Logan said.
Rep. Phil Rubin, D-Wake, is a former federal prosecutor who handled immigration cases.
Before the current administration, he said, immigration agents would have been disciplined for wearing masks or detaining people without any kind of due process or reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed.
“They don’t have the power to do that. It doesn’t matter what the excuse is. … We have laws in this country, and we have, until now, expected federal agents to follow those laws,” Rubin said.
Rep. Mary Belk, D-Mecklenburg, represents part of South Charlotte. Less than an hour before Monday's press conference, Belk said, a friend had called her to say that she'd seen a man running across a busy thoroughfare, chased by Border Patrol agent.
Parts of Charlotte frequently populated by immigrant communities are seeing little foot traffic, Belk said, describing East Charlotte in particular as "a ghost town."
"(Border Patrol) proposed that the reason they're there is for safety and to make sure that t here's no chaos in Charlotte. And that is not what they're doing," Belk said.
She continued, "They're there promoting fear. They're making it unsafe."
