As Operation Charlotte’s Web continues in Charlotte, N.C., experts warn that it has become a trafficking hub for child exploitation and other crimes.
Federal agents recently moved into Charlotte to begin taking illegal alien criminals off the streets. Despite reports that the operation is winding down, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said the operation is far from over.
DHS shared a news clip on Monday with Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino giving an update on the arrests. He said they’ve caught nearly 400 illegal immigrants and the operation will continue.
Operation Charlotte’s Web is far from over. This operation has already resulted in the arrest of HUNDREDS of illegal aliens.
DHS law enforcement will go anywhere to arrest and deport the worst of the worst.@CMDROpAtLargeCA pic.twitter.com/bw6ww9blKE
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) November 24, 2025
“There’s a lot of bad people and bad things in Charlotte,” Bovino said. “We knew that going into the operation, but we didn’t know the depth and scope of just how pervasive that problem was.”
There has been a startling rise in human trafficking cases in the North Carolina, and oftentimes ICE uncovers human and labor trafficking during its coordinated immigration raids. A recent bust at an illicit club in San Antonio netted 150 arrests and involved allegations of sex and human trafficking.
Experts warn that North Carolina’s complex interstate highway system, an increase in gang activity, and high demand for inexpensive labor have created the “perfect storm” for child exploitation, according to a Fox News Digital report.
North Carolina is ranked ninth in the country for human trafficking, according to data from the National Human Trafficking Hotline. In 2024, the state identified 301 cases of human trafficking involving 580 victims, the Hotline indicated.
The cases involve sex trafficking, labor trafficking and other types of exploitation.
Besides out-of-state victims, Charlotte residents and school-aged children get swept up into trafficking. According to data compiled by the Charlotte Metro Human Trafficking Task Force, 48% of trafficking cases in 2024 involved minors aged 15 or younger.
Charlotte had a 76% increase in reported cases of minors involved in trafficking between 2020 to 2024, according to the task force.
Charlotte serves as a commercial hub with several major highways connecting it to other large cities. The city is in the south-central part of North Carolina, just a few miles north of the South Carolina state line.
“Part of the reason why Charlotte is such a huge trafficking hub is because of the highway system,” Toby Braun, founder of American Special Investigative Group, told Fox News Digital. “A lot of these traffickers are running victims and may start in South Florida. From South Florida, they go to Atlanta, and from Atlanta, they pass through Charlotte. Oftentimes there, they may put them in safe houses.”
Braun said victims are transported to other major cities throughout the country — like New York or Houston — after passing through Charlotte. He called it “a central hub, or an epicenter” and said it serves as a “pit stop” for traffickers.
Hannah Arrowood, executive director of Present Age Ministries, spearheads a partnership with the Charlotte Metro Human Trafficking Task Force, and told Fox News Digital it affects every ethnicity and socioeconomic class.
Victims are usually targeted through online platforms, including social media, gaming and dating apps. Most cases go unreported, and Arrowood said Charlotte has a backlog of cases piling up for local law enforcement.
“We call it digital grooming,” Arrowood said. “They’re grooming them, building trust – a lot of times they’re presenting as boyfriend, so [victims] are thinking they’re in a relationship with this person.”
Gangs in the city and criminal networks have a firm grip on the area’s trafficking system, which allows them to hide people and move them around, according to experts.
“The Bloods have a huge stronghold in human trafficking,” Braun told Fox Digital. “They’re one of the primary organized crime groups responsible for trafficking [in Charlotte].”
But Braun added that sometimes traffickers are boyfriends or classmates.
“We’ve seen cases with coaches and people that you would never really expect, and I think that’s what makes them dangerous – the fact that they can be individuals that are hiding in plain sight,” Braun said.
U.S. Congressman Mark Harris, a Republican representing North Carolina’s 8th Congressional District, shared the Fox report on social media, adding “Human trafficking in Charlotte is exploding. 76% spike in child trafficking cases, and it’s getting worse every day. Our police are overwhelmed and majorly understaffed.”
Human trafficking in Charlotte is exploding.
76% spike in child trafficking cases, and it’s getting worse every day.
Our police are overwhelmed and majorly understaffed.@NC_Governor, when are you going to start protecting victims and provide police with backup? pic.twitter.com/MlzZ4BdnsD
— Rep. Mark Harris (@RepMarkHarrisNC) November 17, 2025
Charlotte, a Democrat stronghold, is not technically a sanctuary city because state law prohibits it. However, this spring, North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis labeled nine counties in North Carolina as “sanctuary jurisdictions” because they do not cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
That includes Mecklenburg County, where Charlotte is located, and Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden has clashed with ICE over immigration enforcement at the jail but says he follows the law, according to local NPR radio WFAE 90.7.
Charlotte also has the formal designation of a “Certified Welcoming City” from the Soros-backed Open Society Foundations and its Welcoming America campaign.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem appeared on Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime” last week to discuss Operation Charlotte’s Web and said they’re using investigative cases to go after the “worst of the worst.”
“If you are a criminal illegal alien in North Carolina, your days of terrorizing Americans are OVER,” Noem said with the clip shared on her X account.
If you are a criminal illegal alien in North Carolina, your days of terrorizing Americans are OVER.
Operation Charlotte’s Web is fully deployed — and we will find you and arrest you.@POTUS Trump and I are protecting the citizens of North Carolina. pic.twitter.com/uBbMGzhxsw
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) November 18, 2025
Bovino also spoke to Watters to discuss the backlash against ICE and Border Patrol. He said federal agents are still out on the streets of Charlotte, and “we’re still taking it to the bad guys.”
Bovino shares regular Charlotte updates on his own X account. The Charlotte operation sparked the usual protestors and agitators who attempt to track and disrupt ICE and Border Patrol and interfere with arrests.
A local church has hosted trainings for people to learn to safely protest, record video, and blow whistles at federal agents.
“We go hard and we accomplish the mission, legally, ethically and morally, in whatever city we’re in,” Bovino told Watters. “The illegal aliens and bad guys are going to jail and they’re going to be deported.”
