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As Border Patrol expands enforcement, Latino Triad residents share concerns

U.S. Border Patrol Commander looks on in Charlotte, N.C.
Matt Kelley
/
AP
U.S. Border Patrol Commander looks on as a detainee sits by a car, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C.

As federal immigration authorities expand their enforcement push in North Carolina to Raleigh, operations continue in Charlotte, where more than 200 people have been arrested.

Images circulating in the news and on social media of Latino residents being taken from their vehicles and off the streets by Customs and Border Protection agents have some in the Triad fearing who might be next.

Irving Flores was born in the United States, but still has concerns.

"My wife is Dominican, but she's a citizen," says Flores. "But they don't care if you're a citizen or whatever; they just pick on whoever they want. You have to be afraid of them, because it doesn't matter where you come from, unless you're white, white people don't have any problems."

Francisco is from Guerrero, Mexico, and has lived and worked in the U.S. for two years. He says he wishes that elected officials would reach an agreement to regularize the paperwork for migrant workers.

"Yes, as I said, we're a little afraid that if they catch the dad or the mom, because they are the breadwinner, the children will be left alone," he says. "And in here, it's basically just your family, and that's it. You don't really have other family or friends."

Zoila Flores was born and raised in the Dominican Republic. She wonders about the economic impact of the immigrant crackdowns.

"What I don't understand is, they want to get rid of all those immigrants, but all the restaurants where you eat, all the farms, the products where they come from," says Flores. "It's the immigrants who do it, because the people here, the ones who are supposedly here legally, don't want to do that work."

Before his arrival in the Triad, David had already established himself as a fixture in the Austin, Texas arts scene as a radio host for Classical 89.5 KMFA. During his tenure there, he produced and hosted hundreds of programs including Mind Your Music, The Basics and T.G.I.F. Thank Goodness, It's Familiar, which each won international awards in the Fine Arts Radio Competition. As a radio journalist with 88.5 WFDD, his features have been recognized by the Associated Press, Public Radio News Directors Inc., Catholic Academy of Communication Professionals, and Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas. David has written and produced national stories for NPR, KUSC and CPRN in Los Angeles and conducted interviews for Minnesota Public Radio's Weekend America.

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