- Federal agents arrested Manuel Salazar Diaz at a Greensboro restaurant on July ninth, twenty twenty-six.
- North Carolina arrests topped six thousand three hundred since January twenty twenty-five, doubling previous two-year totals.
- A fourteen hundred-bed detention center will reopen in Winton by the end of twenty twenty-six.
Immigration agents arrested Manuel Ezequiel Salazar Diaz at a Waffle House on Randleman Road in Greensboro on July 9, as federal enforcement expanded beyond traditional jail transfers across North Carolina. The 26-year-old man from Nicaragua remained listed at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, in official ICE records dated July 28.
Agents followed a construction van to the restaurant before making the arrest. Witnesses reported seeing officers in face masks and safety vests who arrived in unmarked vehicles.
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The operation came amid a sharp increase in arrests statewide. Federal agents have arrested more than 6,300 people in North Carolina since January 2025, nearly double the combined number recorded during the previous two years.
Community-based arrests have climbed as well. Reports based on ICE data show those arrests increasing 11 times compared with previous years.
The figures point to a broader use of arrests in public places. The case also shows how people arrested in North Carolina may be held outside the state, with ICE records placing Salazar Diaz in Georgia as of July 28.
North Carolina’s enforcement numbers show a wider reach
An analysis by the University of California Berkeley’s Deportation Data Project found that enforcement has reached record levels in North Carolina in 2026. ICE data supplied the arrest figures.
The administration says its efforts focus on people with violent criminal records, whom Department of Homeland Security officials describe as the “Worst of the Worst.” Nationwide detention data, however, show that roughly 70.6% of current detainees have no criminal conviction, with many arrested for non-criminal immigration violations.
| Measure | Reported figure |
|---|---|
| North Carolina arrests since January 2025 | More than 6,300 |
| Comparison with the previous two years combined | Nearly double |
| Increase in community-based arrests | 11 times |
| Current detainees nationwide without a criminal conviction | Roughly 70.6% |
Major operations have supplied a model for the regional approach. “Operation Charlotte’s Web” established a template that is now being applied in cities including the city where Salazar Diaz was arrested and Raleigh.
The method differs from a traditional jail transfer. Officers can instead locate a person in the community and make the arrest at a workplace, restaurant or another public site.
A 1,400-bed facility is scheduled to reopen in Winton
ICE and the GEO Group have finalized plans to reopen Rivers Correctional Institution in Winton, NC, in Hertford County by the end of 2026. The facility will have 1,400 beds.
The site is set to become North Carolina’s first dedicated ICE detention center. It would also rank among the largest detention facilities on the East Coast.
The planned reopening would add in-state capacity as street arrests increase. It would give federal officials another detention location before the year ends.
The expansion is tied to the Reconciliation Act of 2025, H.R. 1, also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” The law provided for 12,000 additional ICE officers and expanded detention capacity.
Federal policy adds detention capacity and financial penalties
DHS announced on July 23, 2026, that it had issued over $84 billion in civil fines to people who refuse to self-deport after receiving final removal orders. The announced penalty is $998 per day.
DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis defended the administration’s enforcement policy on July 31, 2026, linking deportations to lower crime rates.
“President Trump promised to make America safe again, and he has done just that. Crime has fallen to record lows.”
The administration also moved to change asylum processing. On July 27, USCIS Director Joseph Edlow discussed a rule allowing asylum seekers to be referred to judges without interviews, saying, “For far too long the asylum system has been exploited for purposes of delay and work authorization.”
DHS General Counsel James Percival described delay as an obstacle to enforcement. He said, “One of the greatest barriers to effective immigration enforcement is intentional delay by illegal aliens and the open borders attorneys who represent them.”
Those measures sit alongside the additional officers and detention beds authorized under H.R. 1. The Winton facility is scheduled to reopen by the end of 2026.
The July 9 arrest occurred before that facility was available. It placed a public arrest in North Carolina alongside a planned expansion of detention space inside the state.
This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Consult a qualified immigration attorney about your specific case.
