Caldwell County, N.C. (Sept. 2, 2026) — Today, the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina requested records from the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Department concerning the department’s involvement in a July 26, 2026 immigration raid at Wilson Creek in Caldwell County. People were spending the day at the popular destination, where families and friends go to swim, hike, fish, and relax, when federal immigration agents descended on the area and arrested 13 people with support from the U.S. Forest Service. Caldwell County officers were also present, but the scope of their involvement remains unclear.
ACLU-NC made this request under the North Carolina Public Records Act. The requested records concern the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Department’s involvement in the Wilson Creek raid, including how the raid was planned and coordinated with federal agencies; the number of personnel and resources deployed; instructions provided to officers; the criteria for determining whom officers approached, stopped, questioned, searched, detained, or referred to federal immigration authorities; and communications and other records documenting its involvement before, during, and after the raid. ACLU-NC also requested the preservation of body-worn camera footage, dashboard camera footage, and other recordings related to the raid.
When North Carolina law enforcement agencies choose to divert taxpayer-funded resources to support federal immigration enforcement, North Carolinians have a right to know exactly how local agencies use those resources and what role they play in these actions. North Carolinians also have a right to know how that involvement is affecting the people and communities those agencies are supposed to serve.
ACLU-NC requested that the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Department produce the records by September 30, 2026.
Accountability is especially important as the federal government’s mass deportation campaign has been marked by widespread civil rights violations and misconduct. Cruelty and abuse have become standard practice among federal immigration agents rather than isolated incidents. This pattern casts serious doubt on ICE’s assurances that detained people will receive due process once they enter the federal government’s vast network of detention facilities with documented inhumane conditions. At the same time, state and local law enforcement agencies are increasingly collaborating with ICE through 287(g) agreements, including 29 active agreements in North Carolina.
ACLU-NC will continue to pursue transparency and accountability from law enforcement agencies in the face of increasingly aggressive federal immigration actions that threaten the rights and safety of North Carolinians.
Read the public records request below.
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