U.S. Border Patrol

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.

For the rest of this week, volunteers will welcome students at school and act as lookouts should immigration agents show up. Many parents are keeping their children home out of precaution.

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.

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.

Customs and Border Patrol agents arrived in Charlotte over the weekend. Democrats in the N.C. General Assembly blasted their actions during a Monday press conference.

Federal officials have started a surge of immigration enforcement in Charlotte, North Carolina. Agents were seen making arrests on Saturday. Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin says the move aims to ensure public safety.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents were seen making arrests along two of Charlotte's main immigrant corridors on Saturday, prompting businesses to close and restaurants to lock their doors. The arrests preceded a protest in uptown, were tensions ran high over the deployment of federal immigration agents to Charlotte.

Officials and community leaders in Charlotte, North Carolina, are opposing a pending federal immigration crackdown. They describe it as an invasion and urge residents to protest peacefully and record agents' actions from a distance.