Immigration Agents Coming to Raleigh Tuesday, Sources Say

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents will be deployed in the Raleigh area on Tuesday, Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell and Democratic legislative sources briefed by Gov. Josh Stein’s office told The Assembly and INDY on Monday.  

“It is the city of Raleigh’s understanding that the Border Patrol and ICE are already in Raleigh and that they will be active tomorrow,” Cowell told The Assembly and INDY. “We have not been informed of nor are we coordinating or helping plan any of this, so we don’t know what activities they’ll be undertaking tomorrow, or really a lot of other details.”

In a statement, Stein said his office “is aware of reports that the Border Patrol is bringing its operation to Raleigh.”

Stein, a Democrat, asked immigration agents “to target violent criminals, not neighbors walking down the street, going to church, or putting up Christmas decorations. Stop targeting people simply going about their lives because of the color of their skin, as you are doing in Charlotte.

“To the people of Raleigh: remain peaceful, and if you see something wrong, record it and report it to local law enforcement,” Stein added. “Let’s keep each other safe.”

Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees CBP, said in a statement that the department does not “discuss future or potential operations.”

“We will not stop enforcing the laws of our nation until every criminal illegal alien is arrested and removed from our country,” McLaughlin said.

Like Cowell, the legislative sources said they were short on details. 

“I do know that they are bringing people here,” said one state senator, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “We don’t know how long they plan to be here. But they certainly are making their presence known tomorrow.” 

The sources also did not know how many agents CBP would send, or whether their intended target—“Raleigh”—meant the city, Wake County, or the entire Triangle. Durham officials said on Monday that they are planning a press conference for Tuesday morning. (The press conference was canceled as of Tuesday morning; officials said they would release a statement instead.)

The Durham County Sheriff’s Office responded to an inquiry by re-sending a statement it originally provided last week that said the office was not aware of any CBP operations. The sheriff’s office has not responded to follow-up inquiries. 

A Durham Police Department spokesperson said he had not heard of immigration officials “coming to Durham to conduct an operation like they are in Charlotte.” Federal agencies are not required to notify local law enforcement about their plans, the spokesperson said. 

During Monday night’s Durham City Council meeting, Mayor Leonardo Williams read a statement that affirmed the city’s commitment to protecting immigrants but did not address whether Durham would be targeted. 

About 200 CBP agents were deployed to Charlotte on Saturday as part of what the Department of Homeland Security is calling “Operation Charlotte’s Web.” Greg Bovino, the North Carolina-raised head of CBP, vowed to “hit Charlotte like a storm.” At least 130 people were arrested in the first 48 hours, according to CBP. 

ABC News has reported that CBP agents stationed in Charlotte will be sent to New Orleans this Friday. 

Like other cities that immigration officials have targeted this year, Charlotte is led mostly by Democrats. Republicans, including President Donald Trump, blamed the city’s “soft-on-crime” approach for the high-profile killing of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska this summer. 

Earlier this month, three Republican members of the state’s congressional delegation asked Stein to deploy the National Guard to fight what they called the city’s “increasingly dire” crime problem. 

“The men and women who wear the badge in Charlotte have sounded an unmistakable cry for help,” wrote U.S. Reps. Mark Harris, Pat Harrigan, and Chuck Edwards. “Yet you have rejected their cry. The people of North Carolina deserve to know why their governor has refused help while the officers sworn to protect them plead for immediate assistance.” 

Stein has not deployed the National Guard. 

Violent crime in Charlotte has dropped by 20 percent over the last year, according to the city’s police department. Violent crime has dropped as well in Raleigh and Durham, also Democratic strongholds.  

As federal agents moved into Charlotte this weekend, the Trump administration also accused the city’s “sanctuary politicians” of allowing “criminal illegal aliens” to “roam free.” Like Durham and Raleigh’s police departments, Charlotte’s police do not participate in a federal program that authorizes them to enforce immigration laws. 

And until recently, the Mecklenburg County jail did not honor “detainers,” or requests to hold immigrants who would otherwise be released for up to 48 hours so that immigration officials can take them into custody. That changed after the Republican-led General Assembly passed laws in 2024 and 2025 requiring sheriffs to honor detainers and notify immigration officials before releasing immigrants held on felony and other charges. 

The Trump administration said that North Carolina jails failed to honor nearly 1,400 detainers, which Republicans say put residents at risk. 

Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden has argued that partnering with immigration authorities erodes trust between immigrant communities and law enforcement. 

McFadden was one of five Black Democrats who were elected in urban counties in 2018 after pledging not to cooperate with immigration authorities. Also in that group were the new sheriffs of Durham and Wake counties. Those offices—as well as the police departments in Durham and Raleigh—have taken similar approaches to immigration enforcement. 

“Border Patrol is in Charlotte for one reason: the need is real,” Kyle Kirby, chair of the Mecklenburg County GOP, said in a statement. “When local Democrats—who control all aspects of local government—refuse to enforce the law, federal agencies have no choice but to step in and protect this community.”

Democrats argue that the immigration agents’ aggressive tactics have terrorized and intimidated Latino residents. 

“Everyone wants to be safe in their communities,” Stein said in a video posted on X this weekend. “But the actions of too many federal agents are doing the exact opposite in Charlotte. We’ve seen masked, heavily armed agents in paramilitary garb driving unmarked cars, targeting American citizens based on their skin color, racially profiling, and picking up random people in parking lots and off our sidewalks. This is not making us safer.” 

Cowell said she wanted Raleigh residents to know that the city’s police are on their side. 

“If citizens see things that they think are not lawful, feel threatened—any of those—they can call the police as normal tomorrow,” Cowell said. “And we do have First Amendment rights. We are just trying to encourage nonviolent, peaceful sort of activity tomorrow.”

This article has been updated as additional information became available.