A crowd in Winston-Salem rallied Thursday against the ongoing immigration raids, calling for unity and support as anxiety grips the community.

A federal immigration crackdown based in North Carolina’s largest city that authorities said led to hundreds of arrests is now over, a local law enforcement agency said Thursday.

Federal agents have now arrested more than 250 people during an immigration crackdown in North Carolina centered around Charlotte, the state's largest city. Those totals released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security are about double the arrest figures announced earlier this week.

Chief John Thompson said in a press conference two weeks ago that he was unsure if force was warranted in the arrest.

The Department of Homeland Security says the number of people arrested in Charlotte since Saturday is now more than 250. Border Patrol agents started sweeping the city five days ago, looking for people present in the country illegally. The Border Patrol has not responded to WFAE’s questions about the identities of those arrested, what they’re charged with or where they’ve been taken.

U.S. Customs and Border patrol agents fanned out across the Triangle Tuesday, leading many businesses that serve or are run by immigrants to close or reduce staff.

The expansion of immigration enforcement in North Carolina worries some Latino residents in the Triad.

As part of a sweeping immigration crackdown in Charlotte this week, U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested a Nicaraguan man who had been working as a car mechanic in east Charlotte. Records reviewed by WFAE didn't show any criminal history for the man — consistent with Border Patrol statistics that show a majority of those taken into custody did not.

As Border Patrol agents descend on Charlotte — and are reportedly active in Wake County and Durham too — the state's top Republican leaders are supportive of the immigration enforcement action.

Federal immigration authorities will expand their enforcement action in North Carolina to Raleigh as soon as Tuesday, the mayor of the state’s capital city said, while Customs and Border Protection agents continue operating in Charlotte following a weekend that saw arrests of more than 130 people in that city.