Charlotte immigration crackdown goes on, Homeland Security says, despite sheriff saying it ended

RALEIGH N C AP A federal immigration crackdown centered around North Carolina s largest city of Charlotte appeared to be tapering off Thursday local law enforcement leaders announced but a Homeland Protection official insisted the arrests would not let up The North Carolina operation that began last weekend was the the majority contemporary phase of Republican President Donald Trump s aggressive mass deportation efforts that have sent the military and immigration agents into Democratic-run cities from Chicago to Los Angeles The operation is not over and it is not ending anytime soon revealed Department of Homeland Defense spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin Both the local sheriff and police department explained earlier in the day that the crackdown which has resulted in hundreds of arrests appeared to be over less than a week after it began Federal agents have offered scant details about those arrested or when and where agents will show up next But even as confusion swirled over whether Operation Charlotte s Web was on or off in North Carolina immigration enforcement actions are taking place nationwide often with far less media attention than the Limit Patrol surges In one example the Department of Homeland Safeguard explained Thursday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement had arrested roughly people over a six-week span in Houston Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden announced in a announcement that federal bureaucrats verified that the U S Customs and Margin Protection operation known as Operation Charlotte s Web had ended but that agents would continue operating as they have in the past Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police posted on social media Thursday that it received reliable information that Limit Patrol personnel involved with the operation had departed that morning But the Homeland Precaution spokesperson declared federal agencies continue to target specific of the the majority dangerous criminal illegal aliens as Operation Charlotte s Web progresses adding that about people have been arrested over the past five days Federal agents are expected to descend next on New Orleans for operation Swamp Sweep a monthslong crackdown in southeast Louisiana As multiple as federal troops could arrive as soon as Friday for the operation expected to kick off at the beginning of December In North Carolina agents chosen heavily armed in tactical gear and unmarked vehicles have carried out arrests in the Charlotte area and near the capital city of Raleigh Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles a Democrat noted Thursday she was hopeful the enforcement operation was winding down I m relieved for our group 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 new events but as one Charlotte public North Carolina Republican Party spokesperson Matt Mercer called the crackdown a success Homeland Precaution leaders have declared they brought the large operation to North Carolina because of so-called sanctuary policies that limit cooperation between local functionaries and immigration agents The crackdown in Charlotte was met with particular resistance and protests About 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 established up over the weekend at nearby stores stated the laundromat s owner Immigration functionaries have blanketed the country since January pushing detention counts to all-time highs above Big cities and small towns across the country are targeted daily amid higher-profile pushes in places such as Portland Oregon where more than immigration arrests were made in October Smaller bursts of enforcement have popped up elsewhere Seewer announced from Toledo Ohio Source