(NewsNation) — ICE’s presence in North Carolina’s two biggest cities is born out of a desire to address crime and gang issues in the Tarheel State, according to Trump administration spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.
The assistant secretary for public affairs at Homeland Security joined “The Hill on NewsNation” to discuss the agency’s presence in Charlotte and Raleigh.
“There’s definitely bad crime and gang problems there, particularly MS-13,” McLaughlin said. “We’ve seen that in northern Charlotte, there’s actually a 200% increase in homicides in that location.
“But it’s also geographically where those highways are that make it a real hub for human trafficking. We know it’s No. 9 in the country because of that,” she added.
McLaughlin rebuked Democratic North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein for suggesting ICE is racially profiling individuals during operations.
“For that governor to claim that there is racial profiling going on is absolutely absurd, but that kind of rhetoric is leading to the attacks we’re seeing on law enforcement,” she said.
“The last two days, we had vehicles being weaponized and used for ramming of our law enforcement. That is the rhetoric and the conduct we’re seeing that’s increasing those death threats against our law
enforcement officers.”
After being shown a video of an American citizen sitting in his car speaking Spanish to ICE officers before his window was shattered, McLaughlin told NewsNation he wasn’t complying with authorities.
“If it’s a US citizen or an illegal alien, if you’re not complying with law enforcement, they have reasonable suspicion and then they will take measures,” she explained.