EXCLUSIVE — Border Patrol agents who deployed to Chicago to help Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest illegal immigrants in the sanctuary city are headed to Charlotte, North Carolina, as soon as this week, the Washington Examiner has learned.
Three sources familiar with the Border Patrol’s plans disclosed in text messages on Tuesday that a large swath of agents will head to Charlotte by the week’s end, as will Gregory Bovino, Border Patrol’s chief of the El Centro, California, region, and commander of the ICE operations in Los Angeles and Chicago.
The shift comes as the Trump administration continues its aggressive crackdown on illegal immigrants nationwide following growing tensions between federal law enforcement and community members in Chicago who strongly opposed the presence of federal police.
Border Patrol agents were assisting ICE in fewer numbers across nearly 20 cities as of late October, Customs and Border Protection told the Washington Examiner.
However, agents had been deployed in far larger numbers to cities with large illegal immigrant populations where Democratic leaders have refused to hand over people in local jails. The Department of Homeland Security has hoped to send a message to state and local officials who refuse to work with the federal government in addressing crime and enforcing immigration laws.
Border Patrol made a very public entrance to Chicago in early October, parading down Michigan Avenue in tactical gear. Its pending arrival in Charlotte, a blue city in a red state, is expected to make waves given the city’s Democratic elected leaders and sanctuary status.
Bovino has a personal connection to the region. He went to school for a bachelor’s degree at Western Carolina University, then studied at Appalachian State University for his master’s degree.
Charlotte is a sanctuary city that has declined to work with ICE under Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden, a Democrat in his second term. McFadden spoke with the Washington Examiner earlier this year and said he and other sheriffs in the state do not partner with ICE due to legal concerns.
McFadden maintains that he will turn over anyone in custody to ICE if officers can submit a warrant signed by a federal judge. ICE has maintained that such a document is not required, leading to the stand-off between both parties. The result is that most illegal immigrants who are arrested locally are allowed to be released from jail if they make bail, rather than being handed over to ICE.
A DHS official declined to comment on the shift in Border Patrol operations.
WHY ICE AND BORDER PATROL ARE FIGHTING OVER WHICH SHOULD ARREST ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
“Every day, DHS enforces the laws of the nation across the country,” DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin wrote in a statement Tuesday afternoon. “We do not discuss future or potential operations.”
CBP did not respond to requests for comment.
