Tag: Charlotte immigrant corridor

At 2 p.m. Friday during what is usually a busy late lunch period, Lempira Restaurant on Central Avenue sat empty. A group of waitresses dressed in uniform — all black from head to toe — huddled around the hostess stand eagerly waiting for a customer.

Business has been down 70%, restaurant manager Francisco Valle said, since news broke that Charlotte would become the next target for Border Patrol agents after their months-long stint in Chicago. Waitresses who would juggle about 10 tables at a time have been reduced to maybe three.

People are afraid, Valle said.

“From what we’re seeing on certain videos and in certain situations back in Chicago, they’re scared that they’re going to be treated like animals,” he said. “They’re scared that they’re going to be beaten. They’re scared that they’re going to be ripped apart.”

In an attempt to brace for the U.S. Border Patrol to make its way to Charlotte, much of the Queen City’s immigrant community is staying out of sight. Central Avenue, considered the heart of Charlotte’s immigrant community, was quiet Friday with reduced traffic on the roads and in businesses.

The lack of clarity and details about what the Border Patrol’s operation in Charlotte will look like has people on edge, advocates say. But Hector Vaca, immigration Justice Director for Action NC, says he wouldn’t be surprised if things played out similarly to Chicago and Los Angeles.

“They’ve already shown themselves to be violent,” he said. “They’ve shown themselves to racially profile our community and just walk up to people either disguised as cable men or UPS drivers, and just grabbing you off the street. They’ve shown themselves already. “

In Chicago, Border Patrol agents were seen firing pepper balls, rubber bullets and tear gas on crowds, according to CBS News. In one incident, Greg Bovino, the agency’s chief patrol agent, threw a canister of gas toward a crowd of protesters after claiming he was hit by a rock.

“We use the least amount of force necessary to effect the arrest, we do that,” Bovino said in the article. “If I had more CS gas, I would have deployed it.”

Made in America with immigrant hands

In Manolo’s Bakery, cheesecakes, cannolis and conchas sit aplenty and untouched well into the day — a sign of reduced business. Still, workers in black T-shirts that read “Made in America with immigrant hands” stand ready, greeting each customer with beaming smiles.

Pamela Tenorio, a cake instructor at Manolo’s, said 10 people were signed up for a cake making class this week — only four showed up. And cancellations are stacking up for cakes families once were using as part of celebrations.

“We are devastated,” she said with tears welling in her eyes. “I feel very sad right now.”

While entities like Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools have assured students’ safety, there’s an undeniable sense of fear that goes beyond just being detained, said council-member elect J.D. Mazuera Arias.

“We’ve heard horror stories in … Democratic led cities like in Chicago and LA, where grandparents and uncles and aunts are so fearful of leaving their home that they go weeks without eating,” Mazuera Arias said. “Sometimes kids aren’t going to school because their parents are so fearful that these federal agencies are stripping folks away from basic necessities to live a dignified life, which is access to food, access to education, access to health care, access to having a roof above their head.”

The immigrant community in Charlotte is not just Latino, Mazuera Arias said. They are also Nigerian, Congolese, Ukrainian, Albanian and many others. All are a part of what makes Charlotte, Charlotte.

“It’s deeply sad, because as the Queen City, we pride ourselves in our diversity and our vibrancy and our hustle and bustle of a growing city,” he said. “Not only is it a hit to our cultural fabric, but it’s also a hit economically. These individuals contribute millions and millions of dollars to our local economy and to our state economy. And so not only are we going to have an impact culturally and morally, but we also will have an economic impact.”

‘Tough for my people right now’

At a round booth in his empty restaurant Valle thinks of his mother who lives in Charlotte. As an immigrant from El Salvador she spent thousands trying to cement her status in the United States — over 20 years later, it still hasn’t happened.

These immigration raids haven’t panned out to be what President Trump said they would be, Valle said.

“I heard criminals from the beginning, you know? And I’m not seeing criminals being taken care of,” he said. “I’m seeing families being ripped apart. I’m seeing innocent people being ripped from jobs. Hardworking people in jobs that mostly nobody wants to do… it’s becoming really tough for my people right now.”