North Carolina Migrants Camp Outside Homeland Security Office in Freezing Temperatures to Get Cases Heard Before Trump Takes Office

Migrants in North Carolina were scrambling this week to have someone hear their cases ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration.

A report from a Charlotte news station described “extraordinarily long lines” at the city’s Homeland Security Office, as migrants desperately tried to get their citizenship statuses addressed before Trump took office on Monday.

Trump had pledged to begin deporting undocumented migrants immediately, stating at one rally, “On day one, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out.”

According to The Washington Post, while ICE has prioritized immigrants with criminal records, other groups face heightened risks of deportation, including millions of newcomers who arrived during President Joe Biden’s border surge and those who have exhausted their legal appeals but remain in the U.S.

Reporter Joe Bruno from WSOC-TV captured a photo of the long lines, tweeting, “Chaos in southwest Charlotte as hundreds of people try to get into the ICE office to have their cases heard ahead of President Donald Trump taking office on Monday.” Some migrants had even slept in the parking lot, hoping for a walk-in appointment. In 22-degree weather, many covered up with blankets as they waited.

Chaos in southwest Charlotte as hundreds of people try to get into the ICE office to have their cases heard ahead of President Donald Trump taking office on Monday. Some people have been sleeping in the parking lot trying to get a walk-in appointment @wsoctv pic.twitter.com/Ix7jNUtYEn

— Joe Bruno (@JoeBrunoWSOC9) January 16, 2025

Eli Brand, also from WSOC, shared that one man had attempted to get a hearing since January 9th. He arrived at 3 a.m. but was still behind dozens in line. ICE attributed the backlog to holiday office closures and the National Day of Mourning. One man, frustrated, said, “There’s no one here who can vouch for me other than these people standing in line.”