Charlotte, North Carolina erupted in emotional protests after federal immigration raids swept through the city, prompting the beloved Manolo’s Bakery to shut its doors for the first time in nearly 30 years. Residents say unmarked cars with masked officers grabbed pedestrians off the street, intensifying fear among immigrant communities.
Bakery owner Manolo Betancur described witnessing people being thrown to the ground and detained without warning — actions he called “terror” and “inhumane.” He closed his business to protect employees and customers after families began disappearing overnight.
Supporters and counter-protesters gathered outside the bakery, highlighting deep divisions in Charlotte over President Donald Trump’s nationwide mass-deportation campaign. While some residents defended CBP actions as necessary law enforcement, others condemned the raids as unlawful, racially targeted, and devastating to families and local businesses.
More than 130 people were detained during the first two days of the operation, according to CBP. Community leaders, business owners, and attorneys warn the tactics have caused unprecedented fear, emptying streets and shutting down immigrant-run businesses across the city.
00:00Further resolved that the board urges the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, U.S. Border Patrol, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, whereas immigration policy, regulation, and enforcement to advocate for the well-being, dignity, and constitutional rights.
00:20Nobody here opposes legitimate law enforcement. But it is also plain that these actions were designed to sow terror. They were designed to intimidate.
00:33And I challenge the president and I challenge federal law enforcement that was in leadership and directed these events to show us the warrant signed by a judge, to show us the probable cause that justified the arrest, show us the previous criminal conviction that justified each and every one of the 200 seizures that took place.
00:59I don't think you can, but I put the gauntlet down and show us, show us where this was legitimate.
01:06I trust the people behind me, because if what we've lived, the past, we didn't want you, you're hurting families, you're hurting education, you're hurting our children. Get out, Border Patrol. Thank you.
01:22If you live in Mecklenburg County, you're less likely to have an attorney.
01:26We are getting phone calls in our ICE hotline of individuals who do not know where their loved ones are, who have been picked up three days ago.
01:35What we're living through right now is unprecedented, but I also want to mention that this is not the first time people have been kidnapped from our streets.
01:48It has not been.
01:51Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Mecklenburg Board of...
01:56Violence for political purposes is terrorism.
02:02What is happening in the streets of Mecklenburg County is not public safety, it's not security, it's meant to instill fear.
02:22And it's not meant to instill fear in the undocumented population.
02:27It's meant to instill fear in the 20% of residents of Latino heritage that call Mecklenburg County and Charlotte home.
02:38As we stood against what was coming, what we knew was coming, the terror that we knew was coming, we have to realize that this is costing real people their lives, this is costing people their livelihoods, and this is going to cost many people the opportunity to support and sustain themselves as they're hiding out instead of working right now.
03:01It's also an economic hardship on our city, whatever we can do to stand together as a people we need to do, because we're stronger together than apart.
03:11I just got back from Lumpkin, Georgia, where I was representing a young woman who was 21 years old, who, mind you, had a special immigrant juvenile status from Charlotte, who is sitting in Lumpkin, Georgia, for what reason?
03:31I'm going back next week to represent other people from Charlotte who have been disappeared, ending up 400-plus miles away from their family, their friends, their communities.
03:42...to my right.
03:47...who relies on her every day that despite having a work permit, a social security number...
03:53Today, the Charlotte I know and love is being terrorized by masked men operating under the authority of the federal government.
04:00...but acting in violation to the Constitution, and stopping people simply because of the color of their skin or appearance.
04:08Why do they operate during the day, never at night?
04:11Every one of those stops is a violation of rights.
04:15...for my people.
04:17I start to cover...
04:20I never had the fear that I have right now.
04:26I carry, since this weekend, my American passport.
04:35...because I'm not sure that they will respect even that document.
04:45Where we are living right now never happened during the 40 years that I have been covering immigration.
04:56...constitutional rights, and four remains steadfast.
05:03And the first thing that I remember is that about humanity, that we are one, that we are all brothers and sisters.
05:12And I don't know how this is okay in any way for anyone.
05:24...to ensure residents have accurate information or support.
05:32This really hurts the fabric of our community.
05:36You've heard already the many contributions that immigrants in our community make to our economy.
05:43I didn't realize it was 12 billion.
05:46But it's probably even more than that because some is not recorded.
05:52But I want each one of you to know that we welcome and respect each one of you.
05:58And we're waiting for the day that the world will give you that same respect.
06:06...and constitutionally sound process for any enforcement at...
06:12I'm not Latino, but I'm a human being.
06:17Mm-hmm.
06:18That's right.
06:19...and I understand humanity.
06:20That's right.
06:21And because I'm not here or there, it touches all of us.
06:26...and continue to do that.
06:31And the class, that puts at any end of us, too.
06:33...and then to meet the people in the front-
06:51of our school, just bringt it to the back-
06:56I feel it's important that we're out here not sitting at home on our butts quiet about
07:19what's going on.
07:20If you're not seeing something and saying something, you're complicit.
07:24I do not want to be complicit.
07:26What's going on here is illegal, it's warrantless, and people are getting picked up without proper
07:32identification, without warrants.
07:35And that is wrong.
07:36Doesn't matter who you are, that is wrong.
07:38We need to support our immigrants.
07:40We love our immigrants here in Charlotte.
07:51Well, I'm here to protest the protesters, because I love America, and I have people
07:59that died for this country, and I'm a veteran, and I want everybody here to be paying taxes
08:05and to live free and do what they want.
08:07But I also want them to be legal, and I don't want people here illegally.
08:14Can you see how it's ruined or can people here to pass a birthday?
08:32Friday is Charlotte became a ghost town, and this is the most diverse side of town.
08:37So I started driving around, and I wrote a post.
08:40We, nobody's coming, so please, Americans support us.
08:45And a lot, a lot of Americans came on Friday.
08:49But then on Saturday, I was walking through the avenue,
08:53and I started seeing how these unmarked cars,
08:57we started driving next to pedestrians,
09:01and then from nowhere, you know, people jump.
09:04From those cars, with their face cover,
09:09and threw the people to the floor, hand cuts,
09:12and put them inside the cars.
09:20So that's when I realized they are here,
09:23they are attacking us, and even though
09:25I'm carrying my American passport,
09:27and an American citizen,
09:29I felt that this is no longer enough.
09:33Then I've been profiling because of my skin color,
09:37my race, and my accent.
09:39So it was a very, a moment of fear.
09:42Even though I have been in Ukraine,
09:44I've been part of the military forces of Colombia.
09:48I know the war.
09:49I have seen the war.
09:50What I saw, it was terror, and it was very scary.
09:53Well, just as soon as I saw that amount of aggressivity
10:01and inhumanity, I called the bakeries and said, shut the doors,
10:07Well, just as soon as I saw that, the amount of aggressivity and inhumanity, I called the
10:17bakery and said, shut the doors, lock the doors, shut the lights, lock the doors, stay
10:24calm, I'm on my way there, and then a lot, like you say outside, a lot of people start
10:31coming and coming and coming, and an army of angels, an army of good people came here,
10:39stayed in my parking lot, we finished that day, and I sent everybody home and I shut
10:45the doors, first time in 28 years, 28 years, almost 30 years, first time ever that I closed
10:51the doors of this bakery.
11:01And the main reason why I closed the doors is children are losing their fathers, and
11:15children are losing their mothers, and in fear of maybe some of those parents, they were
11:21on their way here to the bakery to get their birthday cake, Saturdays is the biggest day
11:25for any birthdays, and so many, many children, they didn't get that birthday cake, they didn't
11:33get their father, they didn't get to see their father back that day at home.
11:38So I thought about those children, I thought about my children, I thought about what about
11:42if my son is walking, he's a teenager, 16 years old, and this guy just threw them to the floor,
11:48how I would react, what would happen to my son, what, what about if that happened to my wife,
11:55and then what about my customers, what about my employees, their families.
12:00So it's a huge fear, and say it's not worth it, you know, I'd rather lose money, even lose
12:08my business, but I'm not going to lose my peace of mind than I'm doing the right thing for humanity.
12:25We can have safe borders and safe families, families belong together, nobody wants criminals,
12:39I don't want criminals, and I want a safe border, but all our people who have been here,
12:45they need a path for an immigration reform, that's what I meant.
12:52If there is hate in your heart, start looking inside, you see, you believe in Jesus, Jesus
13:03was the first immigrant ever, you know, so there is a way to do it and work on this, but
13:09this inhumanity, this cruelty, and this pain has to stop, we don't need this darkness in
13:16this nation, it's too, it's too cold, it's too dark, and this country is beautiful alive,
13:22you know, there is an opportunity, and it was a nation funded by immigrants, that's what
13:27I really want to say to everybody.
13:29I'm here to represent all the people who can't, who don't have a voice, or can't come out here.
13:47My husband's Hispanic, my kids are Hispanic, so I'm here for them, and everybody else.
13:54It's important for me to be here today because someone has to have a voice for the people
14:05that can't, and as a social worker, I have an ethic duty, but outside of that, I have
14:10a duty as a human being to protect my neighbors.
14:12America is built on immigrants, and that's the way it should stay.
14:24To speak out against Nazism and Fascism.
14:36This is America, we believe in due process, we believe in the rights of people.
14:42We're not headed in a good direction.
14:57It's important for me to be here today to stand in the gaps for the immigrants, people
15:02who help run this community, people who help build the community, and people who stand with
15:08us whenever we're going through time.
15:10So it's important for me to be out here to support the east side of Charlotte as well
15:13because this is my home.
15:15And we're going to stand out here, and we're going to stand in the gaps for them for sure.
15:18Here in Charlotte, when we've received information that CBP or Border Patrol was here, it's had
15:36a definite impact in our community.
15:39Many immigrants, even those who are lawful permanent residents or even those that have
15:43work permits have fear, legitimate fear, and they want to stay home because they don't
15:49want to be accosted.
15:50There are serious questions as to the methodology being used by Border Patrol in terms of how they're
15:56identifying people who they want to apprehend.
16:01There are serious questions as to whether or not this is done is based on appearances, engaging
16:06in profiling, or if this is based on specific information that immigration already has.
16:13In my personal experience and in my practice, I have seen immigration in the last few months
16:18go after people who have prior orders of removals.
16:21And so that's what's happening.
16:23People are afraid.
16:25Businesses are shut.
16:27People are staying home or staying put until things change.
16:36I have not seen anything like this.
16:41This is unprecedented in the Charlotte community where we see widespread enforcement.
16:48And again, usually what we've seen here historically has been specific targets, immigration proceeding.
16:58They know that someone's going to be there.
16:59Maybe they're leaving at court or maybe they're leaving home.
17:03This appears to be something very different.
17:06And I think I speak on behalf of a lot of people who share the sentiment.
17:10This has put more fear in the immigrant community than anything I've seen in the last 15 years.
17:16Not for ICE, no deportation!
17:29Money for jobs and education!
17:31Money for jobs and education!
17:33Not for ICE, no deportation!
17:36Not for ICE, no deportation!
17:38Say it twice!
17:39We will not put up with ICE!
17:42We will not put up with ICE!
17:43We will not put up with ICE!
17:44Say it once and say it twice!
17:46Say it once and say it twice!
17:48Say it once and say it twice!
17:50We will not put up with ICE!
17:52We will not put up with ICE!
17:53We will not put up with ICE!
17:54You're welcome here!
17:55Say it loud and say it clear!
17:57Say it loud and say it clear!
17:58Say it loud!
17:59We got the power!
18:00We got the power!
18:01We got the power!
18:02We got the power!
18:03We got the power!
18:04We got the power!
18:05We got the power!
18:06no more, ICE attention no more, ICE attention no more, our city, whose city, our city, whose
18:13streets, our streets, whose streets, our streets, whose city, the foreign occupations,
18:20running for jobs and education, running for jobs and education, nothing's right.
18:25If the billionaires keep funding ICE, billionaires keep funding ICE, immigrants, we want justice,
18:31we want justice, you stay out! ICE out of color now! ICE out of color!
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