Western North Carolina residents marched Sunday afternoon in protest of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s operation in Charlotte over the weekend where at least 81 people were arrested.
The demonstration, held by the Party for Socialism and Liberation in Western North Carolina, was organized a day after Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer said the city may be a target for CBP.
“Just like Chicago and L.A., we’re gonna defend our immigrant neighbors with a united mass movement,” Evan Branan, an organizer with the party, told BPR.
More than 100 protesters walked through the streets of downtown Asheville, holding signs and chanting phrases such as “No ICE on our streets.”
Francisco Gonzalez was among the demonstrators. He has called Western North Carolina home for 23 years and lives in Hendersonville.
“People are anxious,” Gonzalez said. “They don’t want to go out right now to the store. Some people are not even going to church.”
Robin Southe Corvo also attended Sunday’s protest. A resident of Asheville for 38 years, Corvo said she participated because she believes CBP is a “horrible organization.”
“They are endangering all of us,” Corvo said. “They’re taking children, they’re taking citizens, they’re deporting people to foreign countries that they don’t belong to.”
In a Nov. 14 email to BPR, Asheville Police Department spokesperson Rick Rice said the department continues to remind officers of their roles and responsibilities when potentially dealing with federal and state agencies.
“We value our strong relationships with all immigrant members of our community and remain dedicated to building trust,” Rick said. “Everyone, regardless of immigration status, should feel safe reporting crimes, and we encourage the community to do so without hesitation.”
Matt Marshall, Buncombe County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer, echoed a similar tone in an email on Nov. 13 to BPR.
“The Sheriff is elected to enforce state law and immigration is a federal issue, so if Border Protection is coming to Buncombe County to find violent and dangerous criminals, then the Sheriff is open to that for the safety of the community,” Marshall said. “However, if it’s to enforce federal immigration raids, then the Sheriff will not take part nor support that effort.”
Both Marshall and Rice said their respective agencies have not been contacted by federal immigration officials about a potential presence in the city or the county.
BPR also reached out to a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security but did not hear back at the time of publication.
So far, there have been no confirmed sightings of federal immigration agents in the region.
