(The Center Square) – Day 2 of enhanced federal immigration law enforcement near the capital city of North Carolina are underway Wednesday, with an official number of arrests on the first day still unknown.
The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol descended into Charlotte on Saturday, along with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, on Tuesday was in Raleigh and the Triangle. Durham leaders said they were aware of four detainments from 20 points of operation, and social media included engagements by federal agents in suburban communities like Cary and Morrisville.
No arrests were reported in downtown Raleigh at a protest. There was another protest in Durham.
Unnamed sources in multiple reports said the visit to the Triangle was to be brief, perhaps not even deep into Wednesday. Still, the day began with a number of businesses closed – an action similar to other communities like Charlotte where the immigrant population is large.
Second-term Republican President Donald Trump has made enforcement of immigration law and border security one of the top priorities of his second administration. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, former governor of South Dakota after nearly a decade in the U.S. House of Representatives, has directed staff to multiple immigration enforcement operations in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Similar to Americans using passports or other documentation to visit foreign countries, so too does the law require those coming into the United States to do so legally. The vast majority follow these laws.
From North Carolina, the immigration enforcement is next expected to arrive in New Orleans by the weekend.
