SALISBURY — As Charlotte news stations report that Department of Homeland Security officials are beginning to end the “Charlotte’s Web” operation, the incident has left a confusing mark an hour north in Rowan County.
Social media has been filled with reported sightings of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials in Salisbury and Kannapolis, but there has been little in the way of official confirmation. Several reported sightings received significant attention on Facebook, with one photo showing uniformed officers in the Circle K parking lot off of Julian Road, which were N.C. Department of Adult Corrections officials.
A video reportedly showed ICE agents making an arrest in the area of Walmart. The Salisbury Post was able to confirm that incident did not involve DHS agents.
Another post on Facebook reported CBP agents on Rainbow Drive in Kannapolis, participating in a Kannapolis Police Department operation. However, Kannapolis Communications Director Annette Privette Keller said that the incident was a regular warrant service by KPD officers, and no DHS agents participated.
Officials from both cities and Rowan County have stated that they have received no word from DHS about potential operations or activities in the area. Keller said that Kannapolis has not seen “hide nor hair” of ICE or CBP agents and Rowan County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Captain Mark McDaniel confirmed multiple times that they have not received any reports of DHS activities or been warned of any.
However, a Rowan County Sheriff’s Office official said a lack of notification by a federal agency would not be unusual.
The Salisbury Post requested information on potential operations or arrests in Salisbury or Kannapolis from DHS. The department’s media response team sent the following in a response email:
“The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and federal agencies continue to target some of the most dangerous criminal illegal aliens as Operation Charlotte’s Web progresses. This immigration enforcement surge in the Charlotte area has led to the arrest of over 370 illegal aliens in the past five days.”
The email also linked to several press releases the department published about arrests made in the Charlotte area.
Despite the lack of concrete information, the continued stream has shown the tension in the community. Several stores, restaurants and other businesses in Rowan County have closed their doors during the operation, with Salisbury food truck Taqueria El Centenario directly citing the “situation we are living in as a community” as its reason for temporarily closing.
Joyce Nash helped gather a group of approximately 80 locals who worked to put eyes on rumored DHS operations and talk to people in the area to either confirm or dispel rumors.
“We built relationships with folks in the Hispanic community and we’re following their lead and following what they say they need. With the ICE operation kicking off in Charlotte, the biggest need was for information and communication,” said Nash.
She said that the effort has revealed the level of compassion that local residents have for each other.
“Folks in the Salisbury community really do care about each other. They care about our Hispanic neighbors and friends. This effort has been about making sure that the people who are directly impacted by this know that there are people who are willing to help and making sure that there is a level of clarity,” said Nash.
While Rowan County may not have been obviously affected by Charlotte’s Web, that does not mean that it has not been affected by the nation’s change in policy.
Sheriff’s office officials have maintained that they will and have complied with a state law passed in 2024 mandating compliance with ICE notifications and detainers. The procedure requires arresting agencies to determine whether people charged with certain offenses, including all felonies, to attempt to determine whether the arrestee is a legal resident. If that determination cannot be made, the agency is required to notify ICE, who can issue a detainer request within two hours that requests the agency hold the arrestee.
