(The Center Square) – Julie Von Haefen, a Democrat from Wake County in the North Carolina House of Representatives, on Sunday posted a vulgar-laced image to social media and doubled down in her protest of federal immigration law enforcement in Charlotte.
Von Haefen, a fourth-term representative, went viral in June with a social media post related to the beheading of President Donald Trump. She took the post down and apologized publicly in the chamber three days later.
“Watching the news and hearing stories from Charlotte and other towns this weekend has been horrifying, disturbing and scary,” von Haefen wrote Sunday. “I stand with our immigrant communities. Always.”
The image appears – The Center Square has not confirmed – to originate from Edwin Salas Art. A hat with a feather tops a skeletal image holding a glass, with the words under it, “I drink my horchata warm cause f— ICE.”
Salas, according to his website and LinkedIn page, is a multidisciplinary artist that did his undergrad at UNC Asheville. Previous funding for his work includes from UNCA’s McCullough Fellowship (2024) for applied research in environmental sustainability, and Art in the Heart – City of Asheville (2022).
Horchata is a creamy nonalcoholic drink popular in Spain and Latin America, often served cold.
Von Haefen, about three hours after her initial post, responded to criticism by writing in part, “It’s disturbing that some people are more upset that I posted a photo with a swear word in it than the human rights violations that are going on in our own state. If you don’t see the irony of that, please stop following my page.”
And, she added, “And I won’t be quiet in the face of this brutality and violence against North Carolinians. This situation is horrible and million curse words wouldn’t be enough for the anger I feel about what’s happening in our own backyard.”
U.S. Border Patrol arrived on Saturday in Charlotte and has begun enforcement of federal immigration laws. Reports Monday from Homeland Security said more than 130 arrests had been made.
The first day of Charlotte’s Web yielded 81 arrests, said Commander Gregory K. Bovino. People he says are illegally in America, some with multiple deportations only to return, and with charges like aggravated assault, weapons violations and impaired driving are pictured on his social media feed.
Von Haefen at a protest of Trump in Raleigh made a social media post picturing of a woman holding signage with the image of a bloody, used guillotine; the words “In these difficult times, some cuts may be necessary”; and a prop on one end of the handle representing a beheaded Trump. The other end also had a head, a German Nazi Party swastika scrawled across the forehead.
She said her post was a mistake and she was taking accountability when she apologized.
Von Haefen’s five committee memberships in the North Carolina House include Homeland Security and Military and Veterans Affairs; Ethics; Education K-12; Appropriations; and Appropriations, Health and Human Services.
Earlier Monday, Democratic U.S. Rep. Alma Adams of Charlotte wrote on social media, “Charlotte, our community is under siege.”
Siege as a transitive verb means “to attack militarily,” according to Merriam-Webster.
Republican U.S. Rep. Rev. Mark Harris topped a Homeland Security post of a video of a van interrupting operations on Sunday writing, “Violence against law enforcement officers is unacceptable.”
U.S. Rep. Deborah Ross, writing on social media, said, “Deploying CBP to major American cities doesn’t make us safer. Indiscriminate immigration raids are useful for sowing fear and generating headlines, but totally ineffective at protecting us from criminals and terrorists. When the Trump administration spends money and manpower to randomly sweep people off the streets, more felons go free and there are fewer resources available to combat real threats.
“Let’s invest in cops in our communities, not cruel, pointless political stunts like this CBP deployment.”
Ross’ comments on more felons going free as a result of immigration enforcement is not substantiated. Across the country, felons illegally in America being sent out of the country has been substantiated.
The Committee on Oversight and Accountability and the Committee on Homeland Security, each in the U.S. House, released a September 2024 report inclusive of reporting by The Center Square. The report said under the Biden administration there had been more than 8 million migrant encounters nationwide with more than 1.7 million more known gotaways.
Gotaway is a person evading Border Patrol that made it into the interior of the United States.
