Some Charlotte-Mecklenburg students protest on campus with Border Patrol in NC
He couldn’t be sure, but Quint Ulchar suspects half the student body at East Mecklenburg High School filled the track Tuesday morning to protest.
Ulchar, his classmates and students at other Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools campuses are parading around their campuses this week to protest Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests with signs and chants.
“We want ICE out of Charlotte,” Ulchar, a junior, said in an interview with The Charlotte Observer. “Everyone that is here at the schools or lives in Charlotte ... are more likely than not just innocent people who want a fresh start at their life.”
If students weren’t at the protest, Ulchar suspects they were absent from school. CMS reported that more than 20% of students were absent on Monday, the first day back since Border Patrol began arresting people over the weekend. Some schools saw higher absence numbers than others.
At East Mecklenburg High, students gathered in front of the home football stands at the stadium. Ulchar said they listened as a student shared her own experiences with ICE and how their arrests impacted her family. Students also walked the track, chanting and calling for ICE to leave Charlotte. Students held signs while others carried Mexican and Venezuelan flags.
The protests came as armed and masked Border Patrol agents wearing paramilitary gear descended on Charlotte Saturday morning to make arrests. The federal agents have targeted the city’s immigrant communities in the Charlotte area, making arrests at churches, restaurants, and grocery stores.
In the first three days of the operation, dubbed “Charlotte’s Web” after the children’s novel by E.B. White, the Department of Homeland Security said agents arrested over 200 people. DHS said agents were arresting “illegal aliens” with charges including assault, larceny, and weapons charges. But few names or paperwork have been released. And Border Patrol has not said where arrested people are being held.
Operations continued in Charlotte Tuesday while agents were also sent to Raleigh.
Students also protested at Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology, according to a student who shared multiple photos and videos of the protest with The Charlotte Observer. Students carried signs with different messages, including “No one is illegal on stolen land,” and “I’ll take my horchata warm cause ICE sucks.”
One student draped a Mexican flag over his shoulders while another one carried it out in front of them. Students walked the track around the school’s football field in the photo.
Students at other schools, including the Northwest School of the Arts, Garinger High School, Ballantyne Ridge High School and South Mecklenburg High School also planned protests. Protests are planned at CMS schools throughout the week.
Ulchar said schools have group chats with hundreds of students who help organize protests or alert others of ICE sightings. Students also use social media apps like Instagram to post about protests.
But he was still surprised to see such a large turnout on Tuesday.
“It was just so crazy to fully see the entire school community come together for this cause that affects a lot of people,” Ulchar said.
This story was originally published November 18, 2025 at 1:09 PM.
