Over the past several months, immigration enforcement activity, both real and rumored, has frightened communities across Charlotte. Latino residents, regardless of status, have been adjusting their daily lives. Many have reduced shopping, gathering and other public activities. Legal residents and U.S. citizens alike now keep passports close at hand as they go about their day.
While headlines often focus on political arguments and border statistics, the local consequences are playing out quietly, in corner stores, laundromats, bakeries, and on city balance sheets. According to the Camino Research Institute, Latino-linked economic activity contributes over $344.2 million in state and local tax revenue annually in North Carolina. In the Charlotte metro area alone, that figure is $45.5 million
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