Border Patrol’s immigration enforcement operation in Charlotte is over, local officials say
By Dianne Gallagher, Priscilla Alvarez, Chris Boyette, CNN
(CNN) — Top Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino and some of his agents have left Charlotte, North Carolina, according to a Homeland Security official.
The days-long operation disrupted life across the city, leading to business closures, children kept out of school, and widespread fear in the community. Dubbed “Operation Charlotte’s Web,” it resulted in more than 250 arrests.
Immigration enforcement will continue in the area, similar to what happened in Chicago after Bovino and his team departed, other law enforcement officials said.
Bovino and his agents are expected to launch an operation in New Orleans after the Thanksgiving holiday.
Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden issued a statement Thursday saying federal officials confirmed to him that the Customs and Border Protection operation in Charlotte is over.
As a result, the statement said, there will be no CBP operations in Charlotte on Thursday.
“We will continue to build relationships, mend bridges, and listen to the voices of everyone in our community,” McFadden said. “As we move forward, I want the city of Charlotte to know, I will keep fighting for clarity, accountability, and trust. I will continue to protect this city and every single one of its citizens.”
McFadden noted that while the CBP operation known as “Charlotte’s Web” has ended, ICE will continue its own enforcement efforts.
Federal agents leave behind a city rocked by fear and confusion
In the few days that federal agents focused their immigration enforcement crackdown on North Carolina’s largest city, fear and confusion swept through the Charlotte community.
Charlotte teacher Jamie Roldan told CNN’s Gustavo Valdes she had been getting questions from students such as, “What is going to happen if I go home and my parents aren’t there?” and “What does that mean if my parents get taken away?”
She described having only nine students show up on one day this week, as parents were afraid to send their children to school or, in some cases, parents with legal status drove the children of undocumented parents to class.
More than 30,000 students — about 20% of district enrollment — were absent from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools on Monday as the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration enforcement mission in Charlotte continued, the district said, citing updated data from the beginning of the week.
“We just understand that they were not in school receiving education, advancing their social skills and we know that there was an impact to those homes where parents had to modify their work schedules,” Charlotte Mayor Pro Tem Danté Anderson told CNN Wednesday. “They had to have an economic impact out of fear that something would occur at those schools.”
When a CNN crew in a black SUV was parked near a school this week, an official asked them to move their vehicle because it resembled a CBP vehicle and was frightening parents picking up their children.
One nonprofit estimates about half of the mom-and-pop businesses it works with have closed at some point during the immigration crackdown.
A family-run Colombian bakery, which has closed only once in its 28-year history, closed last week, with the family unsure of when it will reopen.
As of Wednesday, DHS said it had made more than 250 arrests in Charlotte as part of the operation.
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