DHS calls it “enforcement,” while locals call it terrorizing their neighborhoods
Border Patrol agents flooded immigrant-heavy neighborhoods in Charlotte, North Carolina, this weekend, arresting at least 81 people and terrifying entire communities. The operation, dubbed “Charlotte’s Web,” saw agents chasing people through parking lots, smashing car windows, and raiding businesses without warning.
“A lot of the workers are scared, and this, like – it’s going to be worse here in the east and South Boulevard where there are a lot of Hispanics,” he told WFAE.
Agents were also filmed questioning nearby landscapers, and smashing the window of a man’s car on South Boulevard and pulling him from his vehicle. Arrests also reportedly took place in Pineville and in Matthews.
The Department of Homeland Security said Saturday that it had launched an operation called “Charlotte’s Web” because local law enforcement were not detaining people charged with serious crimes.
Videos show agents in unmarked SUVs pulling over landscapers and snatching people off sidewalks, while local shops shut down and hundreds protested downtown. DHS says the mission targets violent offenders. Locals say it looks more like political theater with badges and rifles.