Leaders of the Asheville, North Carolina, affiliate of the National Education Association joined activists Monday in calling for the city to block United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement from using any municipal property.

The press conference followed the arrest of 81 illegal immigrants in Charlotte during the opening phase of ICE’s enforcement effort known as “Charlotte’s Web.”

Operation Charlotte’s Web is targeting criminal illegal aliens who have flocked to the Tar Heel State.

DHS law enforcement is surging to Charlotte to protect Americans and remove these public safety threats. There have been too many victims of criminal illegal aliens.@POTUS… pic.twitter.com/zdngoEsUKq

— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) November 17, 2025

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The event, streamed by the Buncombe County Association of Educators, featured teachers’ union representatives, local pastors, and Asheville City Councilwoman Kim Roney, who is also a candidate for mayor.

Speakers urged Asheville officials to adopt a formal ban similar to the order Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson enacted.

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“We appreciate the public statements that many of our local and state leaders have made in response to this recent deployment,” Asheville City Association of Educators President Carson Bridges said at the Land of Sky United Church of Christ, where a “Black Lives Matter” banner was displayed.

“But statements alone don’t keep children safe. Policies do, resolutions do, action does.”

Roney discussed the resolution she is urging the council to consider.

She accused ICE of “violating constitutional rights of residents” and referred to the agency’s operations as “gross federal overreach.”

Roney said, “Immigration enforcement is not a criminal matter, it’s a civil one. There are actions, more than statements, that local elected officials can do to keep our communities safe.”

The Rev. Claudia Jimenez, Minister of Faith Formation at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville, addressed the press after Roney.

“We are not dangerous criminals,” she said.

“We are not violent. We are your neighbors… How many of you had immigrant siblings take care of your roofs after [Hurricane] Helene? How many of you have immigrant siblings whose businesses you support and that support you? How many of you have immigrant siblings that clean your clothes and serve the yummy food that Asheville is known for?”

A Department of Homeland Security release connected to the “Charlotte’s Web” operation reported that among those arrested were members of the MS-13 gang, designated as a foreign terrorist organization by President Donald Trump hours after taking office on Jan. 20.

Others arrested included illegal immigrants with convictions for assault, larceny, and DWI.

Federal authorities have documented multiple attacks on ICE personnel in recent months.

Agents have been fired upon during operations in both Illinois and California. DHS released a statement Tuesday highlighting an increase in ramming incidents targeting federal officers involved in immigration enforcement.

Two illegal aliens were killed during a Sept. 24 shooting at an ICE office in Dallas, where the gunman later took his own life.

There was a shooting this morning at the Dallas @ICEgov Field Office. Details are still emerging but we can confirm there were multiple injuries and fatalities.

The shooter is deceased by a self-inflicted gun shot wound.

While we don’t know motive yet, we know that our ICE…

— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) September 24, 2025

Since July 4, there have been at least two other incidents in Texas in which shots were fired at ICE or Border Patrol facilities.

Ten people have been charged with attempted murder in connection with an ambush on an ICE detention center.

DHS reported in an Oct. 30 release that death threats against ICE agents have risen by 8,000%.

President Trump and I stand with the brave men and women of @ICEgov, who are now facing an 8,000% increase in death threats against them.

Every day, our ICE officers are making our schools, streets, and neighborhoods safer by removing vicious criminal illegal aliens.

Sanctuary… pic.twitter.com/zvZFMLEDhR

— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) October 30, 2025

A Sept. 22 release from the agency noted a 1,000% year-over-year increase in assaults on its personnel.

Comparing ICE day-in and day-out to the Nazi Gestapo, the Secret Police, and slave patrols has consequences.

The shameful rhetoric from activists, sanctuary politicians, and the media has fueled a culture of hate against law enforcement resulting in a 1,000 percent increase in… pic.twitter.com/qavU8rPke1

— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) September 25, 2025

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