Between January and August 2026, ICE made 5,008 arrests in North Carolina. Charlotte topped the list, followed by Raleigh, Gastonia, Concord, and Monroe. Two out of every three people arrested had no criminal convictions, according to an analysis released by the organization Siembra NC.
Charlotte, in Mecklenburg County, accounted for almost one in three arrests made by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in North Carolina during the first seven months of 2026.
Of the 5,008 arrests recorded between January 1 and August 5, 1,564 occurred in Charlotte. This figure represents 31.2% of the statewide total during that period.
ICE's activity also reached cities located in the counties of Wake, Gaston, Cabarrus, Union, Henderson, New Hanover, Durham, Buncombe, Alamance and Guilford.
The data corresponds to individual records obtained by the Deportation Data ProjectICE obtained the information from UC Berkeley and UCLA through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit. The information was released on August 21, and the dataset includes records updated through August 6.
Until then, detailed data on arrests made after March 10, 2026 had not been publicly disclosed.
Charlotte leads the arrests
No other city in North Carolina comes close to the number of arrests recorded in Charlotte. Raleigh comes in second, with 438, less than a third of those reported in Charlotte.
These were the cities with the most arrests between January 1 and August 5, 2026:
- Charlotte, Mecklenburg County: 1,564
- Raleigh, primarily in Wake County: 438
- Gastonia, Gaston County: 161
- Concord, Cabarrus County: 143
- Monroe, Union County: 127
- Hendersonville, Henderson County: 125
- Castle Hayne, New Hanover County: 103
- Durham, mainly in County Durham: 88
- Asheville, Buncombe County: 85
- Graham, Alamance County: 85
- Greensboro, Guilford County: 76
The data corresponds to the city listed by ICE in each record, so it does not represent official totals by county. Some cities, such as Raleigh and Durham, span territory in more than one county.
Charlotte is home to ICE's regional operations office and the Immigration Court that handles cases from North Carolina and South Carolina. Its facilities also serve as temporary processing points before detainees are transferred out of state.
Nearly 10,000 arrests since January 2025
The new records bring the number of arrests made in North Carolina from January 20, 2025 to August 2026 to 9,987.
As of March 10 of this year, available reports recorded 6,374 arrests. The new information includes more than 3,600 arrests that were not included in previously released data.
The figure reflects an unprecedented increase in the ICE activity in North Carolina.
Throughout 2024, 1,612 arrests were recorded. In 2025, the number increased to 5,048. In just the first seven months of 2026, ICE had already made 5,008 arrests, almost as many as in the entire previous year.
According to Siembra NC's analysis, ICE went from making an average of approximately 134 arrests per month in 2024 to about 700 per month in 2026, about five times more.
Arrests also did not return to their previous levels after Charlotte's Web, the operation that the Border Patrol carried out for a week in November 2025.
Related article: ICE increases arrests in North Carolina after CBP operation in Charlotte
Two out of every three arrested had no criminal convictions
The analysis also contradicts the narrative that immigration operations are directed exclusively against people convicted of serious crimes.
Of the 5,008 people arrested between January 1 and August 5, 2026, 66.8% had no prior criminal convictions. 17.5% had never faced criminal charges, beyond a possible civil violation of immigration laws.
Only 33.2% had any criminal conviction.
Considering the entire period from January 2025, 62% of those arrested had not been convicted of a crime, according to the analysis.
Most were handed over to ICE from local jails
Although ICE operations in streets and neighborhoods have generated fear among immigrant communities, most of the documented arrests began in a local jail.
73.8% of the arrests in 2026 occurred when people were already in custody, usually after being admitted to a jail and subsequently handed over to ICE.
Siembra NC linked this pattern to 287(g) cooperation programs and state laws such as the HB 318, which strengthen collaboration between local sheriffs and federal immigration authorities.
The records also document hundreds of arrests made during search operations in homes, communities, and neighborhoods. In one out of every five cases, ICE used a general category that does not allow for precise identification of the arrest location.
Almost all of them were transferred out of the state
Among the people arrested in 2026 who subsequently remained in ICE custody, 98% were transferred out of North Carolina.
In total, 4,556 immigrants were sent to private detention facilities, mainly in Georgia, including Stewart Detention Center and Folkston Processing Center.
Because North Carolina does not yet have a permanent immigration detention center, the facilities of ICE in Charlotte and Raleigh function as temporary processing points before the transfer.
This practice separates detainees from their families, communities, and legal representatives.
Those arrested include children and senior citizens
The records also include children as young as 3 years old and adults up to 79 years old.
Since January 2025, ICE has arrested dozens of minors under the age of 18 and dozens of people aged 65 or older in North Carolina.
“They are mothers, fathers, and workers”
For Andreina Malki, defense manager at Siembra NC, the data shows a reality different from the official narrative about the application of immigration laws.
“This data illustrates a truth that our neighbors in North Carolina have known since January: the people ICE is detaining are mothers and fathers, educators and construction workers, asylum seekers and permanent residents,” Malki said.
The activist added that, instead of improving public safety, “this indiscriminate sweep through our communities has opened deep wounds in our schools, workplaces, and local economy.”
Siembra NC cited as an example the case of Jackeline Durán, an asylum seeker detained during a routine appointment with immigration authorities.
He also pointed to the case of Óscar, a fiber optic installer arrested during a transit stop a few days before his wedding to a U.S. citizen, and that of Ángela, a Colombian asylum seeker and mother of a child with autism, detained during an immigration check despite having a work permit and state identification.
Arrests could increase
Siembra NC warned that arrests could intensify with the implementation of the SB 153 Law.
The legislation requires four state agencies — including the State Highway Patrol and the State Bureau of Investigation — to sign 287(g) agreements with ICE to collaborate in the enforcement of immigration laws.
Added to this is the announcement of the opening of the state's first permanent immigration detention center in the former Rivers Correctional Institution, located in Winton, in Hertford County.
The facility, managed by the private company GEO Group, would have a capacity for approximately 1,400 people.
Related article: I CE increases arrests in North Carolina after CBP operation in Charlotte
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