Video: In Charlotte, Border Patrol Arrests Send Families Into Hiding

This afterschool program in East Charlotte has been a safe space for immigrant children. But today, there are reports that Customs and Border Patrol agents are approaching. Staff rush to lock down the building. They say this is the second day in a row that immigration enforcement has showed up. We’re walking up right now to a CBP sighting here. In a statement to The Times, the Department of Homeland Security stated it did not target a school or daycare, and denied trying to enter or make any arrests near the building. Across Charlotte, more than 370 people have been arrested so far, sending large parts of the immigrant community here into hiding. A lot of families, even regardless of legal status, they’re afraid and they’re staying home. People aren’t going to work. Businesses are closing, and kids aren’t going to school. According to city officials, about 20 percent of the city’s student population was missing from school on Monday. Maria asked to only be identified by her first name for fear of being arrested. She said she and her husband, who are both undocumented, and their three children have not left home in four days. Ourbridge suspended its afterschool program after Border Patrol showed up on Monday. Its staff is now delivering food and essentials to families like Maria’s, who remain in hiding with their children. These specific families that we’re heading to right now, they contacted our team and they let us know what specifically they needed. So that’s what we’re dropping off. In just two days, their number of requested deliveries jumped from 40 to 267. Maria said she doesn’t know when the immigration operation will end, but she and her husband will stay home until it does.