The Border Patrol in Charlotte would be a toxic and unnecessary mistake | Editorial

The U.S. Border Patrol may soon arrive in Charlotte as part of the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration crackdown, reports suggest.

Details of any immigration enforcement operations, as well as their scope, remain unclear, but they could be deployed to Charlotte and New Orleans as early as this week, the reports say.

The main question is: why?

There is a case for immigration enforcement, particularly when it comes to addressing the minority of undocumented immigrants who engage in violent crime. But there’s nothing to suggest Charlotte is an immigration hotspot that’s grown out of control, or that immigrants in Charlotte are a particularly acute threat to public safety. Sending masked immigration agents with tactical gear to roam city streets is, at best, a last resort, and Charlotte is not in a position of needing such intervention.

The most likely explanation is that it’s a political move. If so, it’s a counterproductive one that will disrupt lives and create an atmosphere of fear, especially for Charlotte’s Latino community.

The Border Patrol’s focus has historically been securing the actual border, but Trump has tapped the agency to help carry out his mass deportation operations in cities and suburbs, including Los Angeles, Chicago, and now, apparently, Charlotte. Unlike Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which typically conducts targeted enforcement operations, the Border Patrol’s approach has been much more aggressive and involves warrantless and indiscriminate “roving patrols” in public spaces.

Take a look at what’s happened during the two months the Border Patrol has spent in Chicago. Armed immigration agents have been patrolling Chicago in a controversial mission known as “Operation Midway Blitz,” which has yielded thousands of arrests. They’ve walked down busy downtown streets and shown up in public spaces to question people about their immigration status, with a top border agent even admitting they arrest people simply based on “how they look.” They’ve made arrests outside schools, day care centers, grocery stores, courthouses and parades. They’re supposed to be focused on arresting “the worst of the worst,” but many of those arrested had no history of violent crime or had no criminal record at all. It’s not clear what, if anything, the operation has accomplished these past two months, other than wreaking havoc.

By most accounts, ramping up immigration enforcement hasn’t made cities safer. It’s actually made things worse. The disturbing behavior of immigration agents in Chicago has sparked protests, which agents have responded to with a use of force that one federal judge said “shocks the conscience.” They’ve been much too quick to dispense chemical munitions as “crowd control” tactics in neighborhoods when communities push back against their presence, which residents say has led to children being tear-gassed while in their backyards or playing outside during recess.

There are economic repercussions, too, as many residents, regardless of their immigration status, choose to stay home out of fear. Increased ICE activity in Charlotte has already affected Latino businesses, and the subsequent decline in customers and foot traffic has put a dent in their revenue. Increasingly aggressive enforcement operations could make that worse. Also, many of those detained and deported are valuable members of the workforce, and losing them could have a detrimental impact on the city and state’s overall economy.

None of which we should want in our city. The Border Patrol’s presence will traumatize communities, fracture trust in law enforcement and sow unnecessary division. That’s counterproductive to the goal of creating a Charlotte that’s better and safer for everyone.

This isn’t a debate about immigration policy — it’s about whether the government should use fear and force to achieve its goals, and it’s about what exactly those goals are. That’s unclear in Charlotte, but this is not: our city and North Carolina won’t be helped by the Border Patrol’s presence. Our leaders, regardless of party, should say so.

This story was originally published November 13, 2025 at 5:00 AM.