STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Border Patrol agents fanned out across Charlotte, North Carolina, over the weekend, detaining people outside supermarkets, laundromats, auto shops, even a church.
A MART脥NEZ, HOST:
It's the latest city to see a federal immigration crackdown. Similar operations came in Chicago and Los Angeles.
INSKEEP: Nick de la Canal with member station WFAE has been following this and joins us once again. Nick, welcome back.
NICK DE LA CANAL, BYLINE: Thank you.
INSKEEP: What's it like to be around Charlotte right now?
DE LA CANAL: Well, we started to see this crackdown Saturday morning when the city woke up to dozens of Border Patrol agents driving through Charlotte in unmarked vans, especially along the city's major immigrant corridors. And very quickly, video started circulating online of agents chasing people down sidewalks, breaking the car window of a man who later said he was a U.S. citizen. Agents were also filmed questioning landscapers who were putting up Christmas lights in a front yard. And, you know, it created a lot of chaos. One of the people I spoke with was Yessica Arias (ph), who owns an auto shop in east Charlotte, and she says one of her employees was detained after agents pulled up and chased him.
YESSICA ARIAS: They just came at random. They are picking people at random. They are not here for delinquents. They are here for working people.
DE LA CANAL: And then that sense of chaos really continued on into Sunday, when a man was hospitalized for medical episode as agents were trying to detain him outside of church.
INSKEEP: Very interested by those details, questioning people who are working, breaking the window of someone who says he's a U.S. citizen. But what is Customs and Border Protection saying about all this?
DE LA CANAL: Well, Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino said agents arrested 81 people on Saturday. We're still waiting on numbers from Sunday. What we don't know is who these people are. The agency hasn't released names or charges. Bovino has shared photos on social media of some of the people arrested, saying they had DUIs or criminal histories, but he hasn't identified them, so we really can't say for sure. Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security put out a statement saying it surged agents to Charlotte to, quote, "ensure Americans are safe and safety threats are removed."
INSKEEP: Ensuring Americans are safe. So when you talk to residents, are they feeling safe?
DE LA CANAL: Well, the residents I spoke with, especially in immigrant communities, say they are very fearful right now. You know, I was walking down Central Avenue on Saturday, which is lined with Hispanic businesses. I saw restaurants lock their doors with customers inside. Other shops closed early and sent workers home. Some people told me that they're essentially going into hiding. I talked with a construction worker, Lopez Nunez, outside a Walmart on Sunday. He said he's keeping his undocumented wife and newborn home for the week.
LOPEZ NUNEZ: If you really need to go outside, it's for an emergency. If you try to stay - just stay home. Be safe. And don't open the door, like, for ICE.
DE LA CANAL: And in a joint statement, Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles said agents were causing unnecessary fear and that she stands with residents who want to simply go about their lives.
INSKEEP: So what is the broader plan of immigration authorities here, as far as you know?
DE LA CANAL: We don't really know. We don't know how long this operation will last. DHS hasn't said. We are seeing some community pushback. You know, there was a big protest in uptown on Saturday, and advocacy groups are recruiting volunteers to monitor agents. We've already seen some tense confrontations between activists and agents. And so I think what we can expect is for the tension to grow for as long as this operation continues.
INSKEEP: Nick de la Canal of member station WFAE. Thanks for the update.
DE LA CANAL: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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