Federal immigration agents arrested at least 81 people in Charlotte, North Carolina, over the weekend, in what officials described as one of the most extensive enforcement operations under the Trump administration’s ongoing deportation campaign.
The large-scale raid, which took place on Saturday, marked the first day of coordinated operations in the city, according to Gregory Bovino, a senior U.S. Border Patrol commander who previously oversaw similar crackdowns in Los Angeles and Chicago.
Bovino announced the arrests in a post on social media early Sunday, saying agents apprehended the individuals within a five-hour span and that many of those detained had “significant criminal and immigration history.”
Neither the U.S. Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), nor the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) immediately responded to requests for comment.
The arrests represent an escalation in the administration’s aggressive approach to immigration enforcement, a central pillar of President Donald Trump’s domestic policy. Since taking office, Trump’s government has launched mass deportation raids in both Democrat-led cities and conservative rural areas, sparking widespread public protests and criticism from civil rights advocates.
Immigrant rights groups have accused federal agents of racial profiling and of detaining U.S. citizens and legal residents during such operations.
In response to the weekend raids, North Carolina Governor Josh Stein, a Democrat, condemned what he described as the “paramilitary-style” tactics of federal officers.
“Undocumented and violent criminals should be deported—everyone wants to be safe in their community—but the actions of too many federal agents are doing the exact opposite in Charlotte,” Stein said in a video message posted on social media Sunday night.
“We’ve seen masked, heavily armed agents in paramilitary garb driving unmarked cars, targeting American citizens based on their skin color, racially profiling and picking up random people in parking lots and off our sidewalks,” he continued.
“Going after landscapers simply decorating a Christmas tree in someone’s front yard. And entering churches and stores to grab people. This is not making us safer, it’s stoking fear and dividing our community.”
A DHS spokesperson later stated that the operation was prompted by local authorities’ refusal to honor nearly 1,400 federal detainer requests, orders asking local jails to hold individuals suspected of immigration violations for up to 48 hours beyond their scheduled release time.
The weekend arrests have fueled debate over the balance between federal immigration enforcement and state-level resistance, underscoring growing political tensions over immigration policy as the administration presses forward with its campaign to remove undocumented immigrants across the country.
