The federal immigration enforcement operation launched in Charlotte, North Carolina, officially ended after less than a week.
Federal authorities are now preparing to redeploy agents and troops to the New Orleans region, the next announced target of the massive arrest operations conducted by the Trump administration.
According to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office, Border Patrol confirmed on Thursday that the operation dubbed “Operation Charlotte’s Web,” deployed in recent days in the state’s largest city, was now concluded. “No agent deployment will take place today,” the sheriff’s office also specified in a statement.
The federal agency did not immediately respond to requests for confirmation.
A Lightning Operation in the Heart of North Carolina
The intervention, which began the previous weekend, was the latest phase of a series of large-scale operations by the Trump administration targeting major cities led by Democratic elected officials—from Chicago to Los Angeles. In North Carolina, agents, sometimes heavily armed and traveling in unmarked vehicles, carried out more than 250 arrests through Tuesday evening, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
On Tuesday, the operation expanded to areas around Raleigh, the state capital, particularly in a suburb where nearly 20% of residents were born outside the United States.
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, a Democrat, welcomed the end of the operation. “I am relieved for our community, for our residents, our businesses, and everyone who was targeted or affected by this intrusion,” she wrote on X. “It is now essential that we come together—not as groups divided by recent events, but as one Charlotte community.”
Climate of Fear in Immigrant Neighborhoods
The federal strategy quickly created a climate of anxiety in several neighborhoods of Charlotte and Raleigh. Businesses temporarily closed, school attendance dropped, and many families avoided going out for fear of encountering federal agents.
A Charlotte laundromat owner stated that terrified customers had abandoned their clothes in the machines to flee when agents were spotted in nearby stores. Such scenes multiplied throughout the city. On Wednesday, approximately 100 protesters gathered outside a Home Depot store where federal agents had been seen on multiple occasions.
Federal authorities claim to have targeted North Carolina because of what they characterize as “sanctuary policies,” which limit cooperation between local law enforcement and immigration agents.
Next Stop: New Orleans
As the Charlotte operation concludes, federal authorities are turning their attention to Louisiana. According to federal officials cited by the Los Angeles Times, the next major offensive—dubbed “Swamp Sweep”—is scheduled to begin in early December in the New Orleans metropolitan area. Up to 250 military personnel and federal agents could be deployed as early as Friday for this operation, which is expected to last several months.
This intensification is part of an unprecedented national arrest campaign. Since January, immigration authorities have been operating throughout the country, bringing the number of detained individuals to more than 60,000, an all-time record. Major cities like Portland, Oregon, have recorded hundreds of arrests—more than 560 in October alone—but more discreet actions have also taken place in smaller localities.
A Long-Term National Strategy
Since the beginning of the year, daily operations conducted by immigration agents have affected every state, sometimes without prior announcement, sometimes as part of massive operations such as the one in Charlotte. In addition to Democratic metropolitan areas, rural and suburban zones are also being targeted, contributing to rising tensions and profound insecurity in many immigrant communities.
The Los Angeles Times report notes that several pieces of information came from Associated Press journalists. Reporters Gary D. Robertson and John Seewer contributed to this information, the latter from Toledo, Ohio.
