The Charlotte City Council Monday voted unanimously to increase financial support for nonprofits and organizations that work with immigrants. The move comes after Customs and Border Protection began raids across the city over the weekend, arresting 130 people on Saturday and Sunday.
It’s unclear how much the city will spend. But council members want City Manager Marcus Jones to give the organizations more money to help immigrants quickly.
“This message is: This is not normal times and we need to do everything in our power to keep our community safe with the resources that we have,” said City Council member Dimple Ajmera, who chairs the intergovernmental relations committee.
CBP said it arrested 130 people on Saturday and Sunday. It said the people are in the country illegally, and that some have criminal records. The federal government has not provided names or more detailed information.
After the committee meeting, Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles was asked by reporters what message she had for President Trump and the Customs and Border Protection.
The mayor said the city believes in fairness and dignity.
“And what I hope would be is that if I talked to the President, (I would say) ‘Look at our city, look at our people,’ and make sure he has the understanding that all of you and I have.
Lyles said she has spoken with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, whose city was the CBP’s focus before coming to Charlotte. Lyles said Charlotte’s ability to influence the situation is limited by the Republican-controlled General Assembly in Raleigh.
Council members explored other actions, such as a prohibition on federal immigration agents from coming onto city property. The city attorney’s office said that and other proposals could be unconstitutional.
The committee did vote to create an educational campaign for people to know their rights if confronted by federal agents.
The full City Council will vote on the two proposals Nov. 24.
