ICE seen in Charlotte church’s parking lot during preschool, group says
Agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement were in the parking lot of a Charlotte church when it hosted preschool on Tuesday, according to Carolina Migrant Network.
“We received numerous reports of multiple agents in the parking lot of Central United Methodist Church during pick up hours for preschoolers,” Carolina Migrant Network spokesperson Daniela Andrade said.
ICE in recent weeks has increased its enforcement in the Charlotte region under the the Trump administration. That included a traffic stop near a school that included a federal agent with his face covered by a mask, according to a video.
It is unclear what immigration officers were doing at the church. ICE spokesperson Lindsay Williams did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Wednesday afternoon.
The church’s head pastor, Ron Perry, also declined to comment.
Commissioner denounces ICE
Mecklenburg County Commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell referenced ICE’s presence at the church at Tuesday’s county commission meeting.
“There has been a disturbing increase in intimidating and aggressive activity,” she said. “Even today the agency descended upon a church preschool on Central Avenue with nearly a dozen vehicles. The fear that these tiny, innocent residents of our county are feeling is real and completely uncalled for.”
She called on ICE to “respect sensitive locations,” like schools, courthouses, places people work, hospitals and places of worship.
“I call on ICE to find actual criminals who put the public at risk, not parents who are just trying to survive and provide for their families,” she said.
Other incidents
ICE has ramped up its presence in the Charlotte area over the last week or so, according to Carolina Migrant Network.
The nonprofit received more than 100 reports of ICE activity in just that week. Typically, they would receive two to four, group co-founder Stefania Arteaga said at a press conference Monday.
Some incidents have caught people’s attention recently:
- In April, ICE arrested four people outside the Mecklenburg County courthouse, leading Sheriff Garry McFadden to again call on the agency to cooperate with his office. Local attorneys were alarmed by those arrests.
- ICE arrested at least two people near an east Charlotte magnet school. One of the men arrested was a father near the school’s drop-off line, according to other school parents. That happened earlier this month. Observer news partner WSOC, with Telemundo, reported on Wednesday that family members of the man arrested near the drop off line say their dad was told by the arresting agent that the agents thought he was someone else. At the time of his arrest, he was taking his friend to work, WSOC reported.
- WBTV reported that ICE chased a man from the courthouse and into a pond before arresting him last week.
With limited to no information coming from ICE and the federal government about their activities, the public has often been left relying on cellphone video made by bystanders.
This story was originally published May 22, 2025 at 5:00 AM.