Border Patrol is preparing to end its immigration enforcement operation in Charlotte, North Carolina, nearly a week after the agency first deployed agents to the state’s most populated city, two officials at the Department of Homeland Security told NBC News on Thursday.
According to one of the officials, Border Patrol has been in contact with state and local officials in Louisiana as they plan to mobilize to New Orleans for its next operation.
The Associated Press reported earlier this week that Customs and Border Protection would begin a new operation targeting Louisiana and Mississippi, with troops preparing there as soon as Friday for an operation to begin on Dec. 1, according to documents obtained by the AP and three people familiar with the operation. Their goal is to arrest 5,000 people who are in the country illegally in the coming weeks in a move the agency has dubbed “Swamp Sweep,” according to the AP.
Neither of the officials who spoke with NBC news said when exactly Border Patrol will wind down the operation the agency kicked off in Charlotte on Saturday. One official said the start date for the operation in New Orleans is unknown, but it could begin any day.
In Charlotte this week, the operation dubbed “Charlotte’s Web” by DHS resulted in the immigration arrests of more than 250 people. The arrests put many residents and business owners of the state’s largest city on edge, sparking fears among immigrant families and prompting small businesses to shut down due to concerns around Border Patrol activity.
The deployments in Charlotte were the latest in a string of high-profile immigration enforcement actions targeting specific cities across the country, such as Los Angeles, Portland, Oregon, and, most recently, Chicago, where hundreds of the people arrested did not have criminal histories, according to the Chicago Tribune.
As agents prepare to leave Charlotte, one of the officials said Border Patrol may return later to that city to continue its immigration crackdown.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
