A man was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents last month outside a Mecklenburg County social services office while dropping off his pregnant wife for an appointment.
27-year-old Elmer Flores was arrested on March 9 while looking for parking outside the Mecklenburg County Health Department on Beatties Ford Road.
Flores moved to the United States from Honduras more than three years ago and has no criminal record, according to advocacy group Siembra NC. ICE is now holding him at a detention facility in Georgia.
His wife is five months pregnant and they have two other children together.
“I hope my husband can be released and that he isn’t deported because I really do need him," she said. "My girls do, too.”
Mecklenburg County confirmed to WFAE that ICE agents were on county property that day. County guidance states that federal agents can access public spaces, such as parking lots, without a warrant.
Mecklenburg County Commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell says incidents like this can discourage immigrants from seeking care.
“My belief is that the current immigration enforcement tactics could be characterized as a public health crisis,” Rodriguez-McDowell said. “We do not check the status of any individual who comes to our facilities, so it’s open to all residents.”
WFAE reached out to ICE for comment but did not receive a response.
