It has been a year since President Trump was reelected, promising mass deportations and tighter immigration laws. Across Charlotte, many immigrants have spent the past year living with fear and uncertainty, unsure whether they or their loved ones could be next to face detention or deportation.
For 30-year-old Dulce, these times feel all too familiar.
"My dad was deported during Trump’s first term," Dulce said. "So when this election came up, it was a little bit like having PTSD in a way."
Her father was deported to Mexico in 2019. For Dulce, who is undocumented and arrived in the U.S. at age 4, Charlotte is the only home she knows. She now cares for her mother, who is also undocumented.
"We went into survival mode," Dulce said. "No more driving for her. We will do everything. No more going to South Charlotte for anything. Not groceries, not visiting my brother."
Fear ripples through Charlotte’s immigrant community
That fear has rippled through immigrant neighborhoods as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement works to carry out Trump’s promises. In the first five months of his term, ICE arrested 1,600 people in North Carolina, more than double from the same period last year. The state also strengthened requirements for county sheriffs to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
“For the first part of 2025, many parents chose not to go out unless it was absolutely necessary," said Sil Ganzó, executive director of ourBRIDGE for KIDS. "We had to step in and provide transportation to their medical appointments — for the kids’ medical appointments.”
ourBRIDGE serves immigrant and refugee families across Charlotte. Ganzó says fear has become part of daily life.
“Every time there was a car, an unmarked car with lights on, parents will send us, or text me pictures of the car," Ganzo said.
Immigrants have grown used to sharing rumors on social media as a way to protect one another. In May, reports of ICE sightings spread through Charlotte and nearby counties, in what ICE called a “larger immigration enforcement operation.”
“Our hotline was just going off," said Daniela Andrade with the Carolina Migrant Network. "We received over 200 calls that week. People saying ICE is here, ICE is at my neighbor’s house. We were awake from 5 a.m. until 8 p.m. monitoring the phone.”
Andrade’s organization offers legal support to detained immigrants and their families. Her team often spends hours trying to locate someone who has been taken without warning.
“Now we’re getting calls like, ‘they detained my husband. I can’t find him," Andrade said. "We help connect them to attorneys, and most of the time they end up in detention centers hours away.”
The fear is not limited to Latino immigrants. The Trump administration has imposed $100,000 fees for new H-1B visa applications, suspended refugee programs and detained visitors from countries like Germany, Canada, and the U.K.
For Ukrainian refugee Slavik, uncertainty over his work permit has created a different kind of stress.
"If this family loses work authorization, they couldn’t pay for rent," Slavik said. "And it means that next week or next month, this family can be just on the street. And it’s really stressful for children.”
Building Trust amid the fear
Immigration attorney Jamilah Espinosa says recent policy changes have left thousands of immigrants in limbo, including those who have lived in the country legally for years.
"You're seeing more individuals who had legal status, who are now at the brink of losing that legal status," Espinosa said. "They had been here a long time and had this legal status, now having to look for alternatives to ensure that they are able to remain in the United States.”
She says the pace of change has made legal work more complicated than ever.
“One thing we might give legal advice this week that no longer applies next week," Espinosa said. "That has been a really big challenge.”
To help ease the tension, local nonprofits have expanded their outreach, sharing verified information and support. At ourBRIDGE, staff members use WhatsApp to send alerts and calm panic.
“We have been using our WhatsApp groups as a matter of just response," Ganzó said. "ICE has been spotted in these areas. Try to not go through that area, just trying to keep everyone informed without falling into like the fear-mongering.”
Ganzó says the organization has become a lifeline for both children and parents.
“Just trying to remind parents that there is a community that is here for them and if they need anything, we’ll step in and support," Ganzó said.
Carolina Migrant Network has focused on “know your rights” trainings and neighborhood organizing.
“We have also seen that community members are ready to report and protect their neighborhoods," Andrade said. "They’re calling us, saying, ‘I see something suspicious.’ Whether it is an operation or not, but they are ready to report something that’s happening.”
Andrade says that kind of organizing has become essential.
“We know this is a long fight, and we know that we’re here to stand with them regardless of what an outcome is because again we believe that victory is not just the outcome, but is standing in solidarity with community,” Andrade said.
Espinosa says the strength of the community is critical, but lasting change will require reform at the federal level.
"I think fundamentally how ICE is operating has to change," Espinosa said. "The relationship that has been created between migrants and ICE, and migrants and the public, has created a very tense and stressful situation for everyone.”
She points to the immigration court system as one of the biggest challenges. Charlotte’s immigration court has more than 130,000 pending cases, part of a national backlog of about 4 million.
“We have to really revamp the immigration courts," Espinosa said. "The big, beautiful bill gave money to the Department of Homeland Security to enforce deportations. But the machine that actually does it falls under the Department of Justice.”
She says the laws themselves need to be updated.
“Above all else, we need immigration reform," Espinosa said. "Congress really has not changed the laws to keep up with population growth or economic factors. People don’t realize the benefits the migrant community brings to the United States.”
Still, she remains hopeful.
“I think every day you get up hoping that you’re going to do good work and really defend the rights of not only immigrants, but the rights of everyone," Espinosa said.
For Dulce, hope means taking life one day at a time.
“I think the one thing I’m hopeful for is unity, finally to have a bit more unity in the community because that’s what’s going to help," Dulce said. "We can’t do this alone.”
