Community activists in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area are ramping up their efforts to counter federal immigration enforcement, turning church basements into training grounds where volunteers literally role-play as illegal immigrants.
Dilworth United Methodist Church overflowed Monday night as Siembra, North Carolina, hosted an “ICE and Border Patrol Watch” session, WBTV reported. Trainers walked attendees through step-by-step exercises on how to track federal agents, film detainment encounters, and alert neighborhoods when immigration officers appear in the area.
Volunteers acted out mock arrest scenarios while trainees practiced recording the encounters, shouting scripted warnings, and instructing “detainees” on what to say when approached by law enforcement. The drills included everything from using whistles to signal ICE’s presence to role-play demonstrations featuring mostly liberal white women pretending to be migrants in custody.
“I’m here tonight to try to learn what I can do. I’ve never participated in this kind of direct action before,” Donna Lanclos, a Charlotte resident who attended the training, said of the event. She admitted she worried the real-world confrontations could turn violent but said the gathering created a sense of unity.
“I am worried about the violence. It was really good to share with people about what we’re worried about, and it felt like we’re real stronger together,” Lanclos said.
Training materials instructed volunteers to escort immigrants to school or work, document federal enforcement activity, and monitor potential violations of the First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments. Organizers repeatedly stressed volunteers’ “rights” when filming federal agents.
The Rev. Joel Simpson praised the turnout, telling MS NOW that the crowd’s presence reflected the community’s commitment to looking out for one another.
“It makes me grateful and reminds me of how much our community loves each other and wants to support that,” Simpson said. “People don’t come out on Monday nights to anything, and so the fact that people are showing up right now and spending their valuable time to learn how to care for each other and protect each other.”
Attorney Tim Emry said the training was an opportunity for residents to learn how to recognize federal immigration agents in the field.
“It’s an opportunity to get trained, to understand how to recognize Border Patrol agents when they’re out in the field, to utilize a whistle or other devices, very old-fashioned, to simply alert people to their presence,” Emry told WBTV.
The Department of Homeland Security earlier this month launched Operation Charlotte’s Web, an enforcement sweep that had 81 people arrested on its first day. Federal officials say the effort targets criminal migrants who took advantage of North Carolina’s sanctuary-style policies.
Chief Border Patrol Agent Greg Bovino led the operation after overseeing similar deportation raids in Los Angeles and Chicago. As Operation Charlotte’s Web ramped up over the weekend, Bovino posted photos on X showing agents arresting illegal immigrants with violent criminal records.
“Americans should be able to live without fear of violent criminal illegal aliens hurting them, their families, or their neighbors,” Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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