NC progressive faith leaders denounce Border Patrol actions in Triangle, Charlotte

Brian Gordon, The News & Observer on Nov 20, 2025

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A coalition of North Carolina faith leaders representing more than a dozen denominations denounced U.S. Border Patrol operations across the Triangle and in Charlotte during a virtual conference Thursday.

“We believe the presence of federal immigration law enforcement in our state prompts us to speak out this morning, declaring the values of the Christian tradition in opposition to these efforts to promote fear and division,” said Jennifer Copeland, executive director of the North Carolina Council of Churches.

The call was organized by the immigrant rights group Siembra NC and the North Carolina Council of Churches, a group that advocates for progressive social and economic causes in the state. Its membership includes Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, Quaker, Presbyterian and Unitarian Universalist leaders.

On Saturday, the Department of Homeland Security launched “Operation Charlotte’s Web,” an action that has resulted in more than 250 people being detained in the Charlotte area, The Charlotte Observer reported. Border Patrol arrived in the Triangle on Tuesday and has since detained an unspecified number of people.

“We rise with one voice to demand that Border Patrol leave our city and stay away from our state and to stay away from all states,” said Rev. Amanda Weatherspoon of the Unitarian Universalist Community of Charlotte.

The faith leaders on Thursday’s call discussed the role churches could have in sheltering people who feared being detained by federal agents. In January, the Trump administration ended a Biden-era policy that had prevented immigration enforcement authorities from making arrests in churches, schools and other “sensitive locations.”

On Nov. 15, masked federal agents detained a member of an east Charlotte church, The Charlotte Observer reported. Agents parked outside a closed gate near the church parking lot and ran into the yard, said the pastor, who didn’t wish to identify his church.

“We are not certain it would be advantageous for people to seek shelter inside places of worship,” Copeland said during Thursday’s call. “That’s not to say that there isn’t a single congregation that would refuse to do that among the 19 denominations in the council.”