North Carolina's immigration crackdown has resulted in over 250 arrests.

Home Depot is being urged by protesters in Charlotte to keep immigration police off its property.

RALEIGH, N.C. — Federal agents have now arrested more than 250 people during a North Carolina immigration crackdown centered around Charlotte, the state’s largest city, the U.S. The Department of Homeland Security stated on Wednesday.

The operation, which started over the weekend, is the most recent stage in Republican President Donald Trump's aggressive mass deportation efforts, which have dispatched immigration officers and the military into Democratic-run cities like Los Angeles and Chicago.

Since January, immigration officers have been all over the nation, causing detention numbers to reach record highs of more over 60,000. Higher-profile campaigns in areas like Portland, Oregon, where over 560 immigration arrests were conducted in October, target both large cities and small villages nationwide on a daily basis. There have been smaller enforcement outbursts elsewhere.

On Tuesday, the drive to make arrests in North Carolina stretched to the region surrounding Raleigh, the state capital, causing anxiety in at least one town with a high immigrant population.

Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell announced late on Wednesday that "border patrol enforcement appears to have been suspended" in the city on the social media platform X. A request for comment was not immediately answered by DHS, and it did not make any announcements regarding a change in its presence.

During what the government has called "Operation Charlotte's Web," there were roughly twice as many arrests in the Charlotte area and beyond as DHS officials had previously reported this week. Agencies "continue to target some of the most dangerous criminal illegal aliens," according to a statement from the department.

People who are purportedly in the United States illegally and those with criminal records are among their targets.

Few specifics regarding those detained have been provided by federal officials. Communities are on edge because they have not disclosed the extent of the enforcement activities throughout North Carolina or the upcoming locations of agents.

There have been protests and pockets of opposition to the Charlotte crackdown.

On Wednesday, around a hundred people gathered outside a Charlotte Home Depot shop where federal officials had been seen several times since the influx began. With orange and white posters that said, "ICE out of Home Depot, Protect our communities," protest organizers briefly entered the store.

Immigrant areas have experienced a chilling effect as a result of arrests in Charlotte and the Raleigh area; school attendance has decreased, and small businesses and eateries have closed to prevent conflicts between patrons and federal officials.

After agents appeared at a Charlotte retail area on Sunday, customers at a laundromat left their clothing in washers and dryers and haven't returned, according to David Rebolloso, the company's owner.

Rebolloso, a Mexican American immigrant in Brownsville, Texas, claimed that even if agents didn't target his laundromat, it nonetheless had an effect on his bottom line and forced the closure of the nearby businesses.

He remarked, "It doesn't bother me because we're only open because I'm an American citizen." Naturally, however, business is down. I don't have any clients.

According to documents obtained by The Associated Press and three people familiar with the operation, Border Patrol agents were anticipated to arrive in New Orleans by the end of the week to begin preparing for their next major operation in southeast Louisiana, just days after starting the crackdown in North Carolina.

In the upcoming weeks, some 250 federal border guards will arrive in New Orleans as part of a two-month immigration crackdown that is anticipated to start in earnest on December 1.

This week, Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol commander assigned to oversee the Louisiana sweep, has also been leading the operation in North Carolina.

On Wednesday, Republicans in Louisiana expressed their support. Derek Babcock, the state party chair, stated that it demonstrates Trump and Republican Governor Jeff Landry's dedication to "keeping our citizens safe."

The director of the state’s American Civil Liberties Union chapter said they were preparing information to help people know their rights and cooperating with legal services and groups affiliated with the immigrant population.

Alanah Odoms of the ACLU of Louisiana stated, "We urge those with privilege and the opportunity to risk it to stand up for their neighbors and friends."

Contributions were made by Associated Press writers Erik Verduzco in Charlotte, Elliot Spagat in San Diego, Safiyah Riddle in Montgomery, Alabama, Sara Cline in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio.