illegals want city of Charlotte to pay legal costs of fighting deportation

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Immigrant activists are planning to challenge the Charlotte City Council with a list of demands at a public forum Monday night, including a demand that the city distribute funds for legal services needed by immigrants fighting deportation proceedings.

The group Comunidad Colectiva says their intent is to fill all 200 seats at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Government Center so they can convince Mayor Jennifer Roberts and the Charlotte City Council to take immediate steps to protect the undocumented immigrant community.

A Facebook post says the effort is being backed by two other groups, the Southeast Asian Coalition and Familias Unidas.

Supporters of the plan will gather at Marshall Park at 5 p.m., then walk the block to City Council meeting, something that could cause traffic issues at the evening rush hour.

Activist Rosalba Tlalolini told the newspaper Que Pasa Mi Gente that the group Comunidad Colectiva believes the council is misinformed about the frequency of arrests being made in the city by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

"I do not know what sources consult the councilmen, but they are wrong," she told the newspaper. "President Trump himself said that with the raids he was fulfilling his campaign promise."

A Facebook post of demands says the group wants city leaders to fight state and federal efforts to more quickly deport undocumented immigrants. It also wants Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police to use discretion when dealing with undocumented immigrants, including refusing to tell federal officials when an undocumented immigrant is arrested. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police currently have a policy of not enforcing federal immigration laws.

Comunidad Colectiva also wants a "distribution of funds to provide legal services for immigrants in deportation proceedings."

It was not made clear where those funds would come from.

The citizens forum starts at 6 p.m.

Experts estimate 54,000 people in Mecklenburg County are living illegally in the country. President Donald Trump has vowed to adhere more closely to the nation's immigration laws, which were only partially enforced by the Obama administration.

Since Trump's election, social media has exploded in Charlotte with reports of ICE raids of businesses, roadblock arrests and even arrests at Charlotte Mecklenburg schools. One rumor drew national attention: An accusation that ICE was arresting undocumented immigrants as they walked out of the Center of Hope homeless shelter in the morning.

It was completely false, says the shelter.

ICE has a standing policy against making arrests at so called "sensitive sites," including schools, hospitals and churches. It has also denied conducting raids or roadblocks in Charlotte. The CMPD has also denied ICE roadblocks were conducted with the aid of city police.

The president of the N.C. Democratic Party's Hispanic Caucus blasted Charlotte City Council in a letter Friday, saying council members' "silence on recent ICE raids has been both deafening and painful."

Manuel Betancur said the council has been silent on the issue, except for what he called "pitiful parroting of (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) talking points designed to placate, marginalize and criminalize."

"Then, becoming aware of our existence, you spout the tired line, 'Charlotte welcomes everyone.' Seriously? That is all you have to say?" Betancur wrote.

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