Federal agents arrest 130 people in Charlotte immigration crackdown

Protesters in Charlotte, North Carolina protest US Border Patrol's immigration crackdown in their city

Federal agents have arrested 130 people in two days in Charlotte, North Carolina, the latest city to face President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration, according to a US official.

Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), told the BBC that a number of the people arrested are criminals and gang members. But local leaders say the operation is doing more harm than good.

DHS said a US citizen allegedly injured an officer by ramming a law enforcement vehicle with their car.

By population, Charlotte is roughly a quarter of the size of Los Angeles and a third of Chicago, the two most notable places targeted for immigration sweeps and deportations.

Greg Bovino, a border official, said 81 of the arrests in Charlotte were made in a five-hour period on Saturday.

Bovino, who is known for leading the Chicago immigration effort until recently, has been posting on social media about "Operation Charlotte's Web".

The name refers to a widely read children's book featuring a spider that saves a pig.

In a statement, DHS said the operation had netted two gang members. Others arrested had been convicted of a rage of crimes, including assault on law enforcement, driving while intoxicated, theft and tampering with government documents.

Many Charlotte residents expressed unhappiness about the operation, marching on Saturday in protest of the Trump administration's actions in the city.

The city's Democratic mayor said in a statement that people in the community feel "threatened" and "destabilized".

"I am deeply concerned with many of the videos I've seen," Mayor Vi Lyles said. "To everyone in Charlotte who is feeling anxious or fearful: you are not alone. Your city stands with you."

The governor of North Carolina, also a Democrat, denounced the operation as well.

"We've seen masked, heavily armed agents in paramilitary garb driving unmarked cars, targeting American citizens based on their skin colour, racially profiling and picking up random people in parking lots," North Carolina Governor Josh Stein said on Sunday. "This is not making us safer."

Fear of immigration agents in the city led some migrants to stay home, as has happened in other cities during times of increased immigration enforcement.

On Sunday, DHS shared a video of a white van being pursued by two police cars after the driver allegedly drove "at law enforcement while they were conducting an operation".

They added that the driver hit police cars when trying to escape, but was later arrested.

DHS has not said how long the raids will last. Chicago's crackdown, which began in September, is still ongoing.

The federal immigration crackdown by Trump has affected many large cities in America, and has also extended into suburbs and smaller communities.

It has also led to a huge drop in illegal entries by migrants, which the BBC saw during a recent visit to the US-Mexico border.