CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Federal Border Patrol agents expanded their operations in North Carolina on Tuesday to include Raleigh, the state capital, and nearby Democratic cities in the latest escalation of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
Since Saturday, the Border Patrol had been focusing its efforts in North Carolina on Charlotte, the state’s largest city, which is home to a growing population of immigrants, especially from Latin America. The expansion to the state’s heavily Democratic Research Triangle region, which includes Durham and Chapel Hill as well as Raleigh, puts a purple state firmly at the center of one of the Trump administration’s most visible immigration strategies.
The full scope of the operation was not immediately clear. Border Patrol agents were seen detaining people Tuesday at a Home Depot in Cary, North Carolina, just west of Raleigh, at an apartment complex and outside a beauty shop in Durham. Volunteers for immigrant advocacy groups were beginning to station themselves at other home improvement stores in the area; one person brought whistles for the volunteers to use if they saw any Border Patrol activity.
Federal officials say that more than 250 people have been arrested in Charlotte since Saturday, and the action there has drawn criticism akin to what opponents said about similar operations in Los Angeles and Chicago this year: that Hispanic people were being profiled, and that the agents’ aggressive tactics had provoked communities, disrupted businesses and incited fear. Two men were charged in separate incidents and accused of using their vehicles to assault, resist or impede federal agents conducting immigration enforcement operations in Charlotte.
The leader of those operations, Gregory Bovino, has posted comments online about some of the people arrested in Charlotte, saying that they had criminal histories and declaring their arrests successes in the Border Patrol’s mission to deport people who are deemed dangerous. The Department of Homeland Security said 44 of the people arrested in Charlotte as of early Monday had criminal histories.
Several Incidents in Charlotte Prompt Criticism
Several episodes in Charlotte over the weekend prompted widespread criticism, including one in which agents approached a landscaper who was hanging Christmas decorations, and another in which an agent smashed in the window of a U.S. citizen’s truck and the man, who is Hispanic, was temporarily detained. Videos posted on social media have shown agents approaching people at grocery stores, Home Depots and construction sites in and around Charlotte.
Some people have posted comments online encouraging the operation, especially on social platform X, where Bovino often responds to both critics and supporters. One supporter thanked him for having immediately detained “Juan illegal alien,” using an offensive pun for a Hispanic person.
“We had a record day today!” Bovino replied. “Massive numbers in Charlotte. Some good criminals also.”
Mayor Janet Cowell of Raleigh, a Democrat, said in a statement that “as the capital city, it is important to us that everyone who lives, works, plays and learns in Raleigh feels safe.” She added that the city’s police department would not be involved in immigration enforcement.
On Tuesday morning, people in several WhatsApp chats that are filled with immigration advocates and people living in the country illegally said they were warning others on the whereabouts of federal agents in the Raleigh and Durham areas.
In the evening, hundreds of protesters gathered in Moore Square in downtown Raleigh. The crowd chanted, “We will not put up with ICE!” and “Up, up with liberation! Down, down with deportation!”
Siembra NC, an organization that assists immigrants, said in a statement that at least a dozen people had been detained in the Research Triangle. The organization added that agents appeared to drive on major roads in Raleigh and stopped people who they believed were not citizens.
“We’re calling on all the business and faith leaders and elected officials to stand united, and too many have been silent,” said Nikki Marín Baena, the group’s co-director. She added that people deserved “a state safe from the lawlessness and terrorism of Border Patrol agents.”
Homeland Security Not Fully Explaining Operation
Homeland Security has not fully explained the details of its operation in the Research Triangle, and it is unclear how many agents have been deployed there.
Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, has said that while he supported any efforts to target violent criminals and get them off the streets, the actions of too many of the federal agents in Charlotte were “not making us safer — it’s stoking fear and dividing our community.”
Several businesses in Charlotte that cater to immigrants have temporarily closed.
In Durham, Claudia Martin, the owner of Las Carolinas Fresh Market, said that her business would stay open, but with restricted entrance. The doors are locked, she said, and only trusted people would be allowed in. She said the market is offering free delivery.
For many Hispanic people in the region, she said, going outdoors feels like “a leap of faith right now.”
Melizza Gomez-Peres, 34, a program manager for an after-school center in Durham, said she was used to seeing Border Patrol in California, where she was raised. But their actions in Durham have startled her.
She said she saw two agents detain a man at the corner of Alston and Liberty streets, right in front of the Mini Mart across from her workplace. She pulled over and started recording.
“We are afraid — afraid to even come out of our houses,” she said. “I’ve offered to get groceries. Everyone is scared.”
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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
By Eduardo Medina, Emily Cataneo and Meredith Honig/Kate Medley
c. 2025 The New York Times Company
