In Charlotte, North Carolina, federal agents were seen on video smashing the window of a U.S. citizen's truck before pulling him to the ground. Tens of thousands of public school students reportedly stayed home from school on Monday, Nov. 17. And businesses in immigrant communities shuttered as border agents patrolled the streets.
North Carolina has become the latest focus in the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration, as federal agents surge into Charlotte and spread out across other Democratic-led cities in the notorious swing state, including Durham and Raleigh.
Located hundreds of miles from the southern and northern borders, North Carolina doesn't often generate national attention for immigration related issues, leading residents and local officials to question why the state that voted for Donald Trump in the last three presidential elections is being targeted.
The Department of Homeland Security said it launched “Operation Charlotte’s Web” to “target the criminal illegal aliens who flocked to the Tar Heel State because they knew sanctuary politicians would protect them and allow them to roam free on American streets.”
But Charlotte is not considered a sanctuary city, and the state has some of the strictest immigration provisions in the country, experts said, including a mandate passed last year requiring local jails to hold arrested immigrants for a limited time so they can be picked up by federal authorities.
