ICE Arrests Surge in North Carolina Jails, Not Streets

Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested more than 3,300 people across North Carolina during President Donald Trump’s first nine months in office — more than double the total for all of 2024 — underscoring how local jails, particularly in Western North Carolina, have become a primary point of federal immigration enforcement.

The figures, analyzed by NC Local and compiled by the Deportation Data Project using records obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests and litigation, cover arrests from Jan. 20, 2025, through Oct. 15, 2025. Most arrests occurred inside county jails, prisons, and other detention facilities, and fewer through street-level operations.

Jails Drive Enforcement

Analysis by the Prison Policy Initiative shows more than two-thirds of ICE arrests in North Carolina occurred in county jails, prisons, and other “lockups.” Many resulted from 287(g) agreements, which authorize local sheriffs’ offices to perform certain federal immigration functions, or from ICE detainers, which request jails hold individuals until federal agents arrive. 

Rutherford County does not participate in the program, according to public records.

North Carolina law requires sheriffs to cooperate with ICE, leaving little discretion at the local level. In practice, people booked into jail for local charges — including minor offenses — can be transferred into ICE custody before release, if there's bed space.

Weekend Arrests Highlight the ‘Worst of the Worst’

Over the weekend of January 16–18, ICE made high-profile arrests in North Carolina, targeting individuals with serious criminal convictions. Among those arrested:

• Manuel Matta-Reyes, 55, Guatemala – Convicted of second-degree murder and first-degree rape in Rutherford County. Arrested by ICE Baltimore.

• Juan Manuel Salinas, 51, Mexico – Convicted of larceny of a motor vehicle in Lenoir County. Arrested by ICE Atlanta.

• Roni Ayala-Raines, 40, Honduras – Convicted of assault by pointing a gun in Lee County. Arrested by ICE Atlanta.

  
  

Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said ICE officers “never stop fulfilling their mission to make America safe,” noting that law enforcement continued operations despite a dramatic increase in assaults against agents. "Despite a more than 1300% increase in assaults against them, ICE law enforcement officers continued to arrest the worst of the worst from communities across the U.S.," the statement said.

County-Level Impact

ICE activity was widespread across North Carolina. Buncombe County recorded 12 arrests between Inauguration Day and mid-October 2025 — nearly all in the county detention center — while Cherokee County recorded four. More than 600 arrests occurred in the Triangle region of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, while northeastern agricultural counties recorded fewer.

The state’s ICE arrest rate from May through mid-October was 17.4 per 100,000 residents, ranking North Carolina 36th among all states and Puerto Rico, according to the Prison Policy Initiative.