(ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA) A small supermarket on Cherry Road has become an unlikely symbol of how federal immigration enforcement far beyond city limits can reshape daily life. Las Americas Supermarket, a popular gathering spot for Rock Hill’s Latino community, has canceled its weekly Taco Tuesday event and shifted its focus to delivery orders after a major operation in nearby Charlotte sent waves of fear through immigrant neighborhoods.
What happened: “Charlotte’s Web” and its ripple effects
Staff at the store say the decision came quickly after word spread about a Department of Homeland Security operation called “Charlotte’s Web,” which began in Charlotte, North Carolina, on November 15, 2025. The sweep, led by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Border Patrol agents, was described by officials as targeting “criminal illegal immigrants.”
By November 17, 2025, there were 81 arrests reported across Charlotte, and local residents began staying home, pulling children out of school, and avoiding any place that might draw attention.
Charlotte has become the first city where CBP is carrying out immigration enforcement on its own, without coordination from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to available information. That shift has raised fresh questions about who is leading operations on the ground and how communities can track what is happening.
The Department of Homeland Security says on its website that its enforcement mission focuses on “upholding the rule of law and maintaining the integrity of the nation’s borders,” and offers general details about such work on its immigration enforcement page.
Local impact in Rock Hill: Las Americas Supermarket
In Rock Hill, those broad policy statements feel very personal. Las Americas’ Taco Tuesday had grown into a weekly ritual:
- Families lining up for plates of tacos
- Music from the parking lot
- Workers using the event as a midweek social break
After Charlotte’s Web began, managers noticed a sharp drop in customers and heard repeated worries that federal agents might expand operations across the state line into South Carolina, or patrol areas where immigrant families gather.
How behavior changed at the store
According to people familiar with the store’s decision:
- Parents asked whether it was safe to bring children to the event.
- Customers who usually came in groups began sending one person to shop.
- Others stopped showing up at all.
With news of the 81 arrests in Charlotte spreading quickly through messaging apps and Spanish-language social media, store leadership decided that even a festive promotion like Taco Tuesday might feel risky to some of the very people they serve.
The supermarket’s response: pivot to delivery
Instead of continuing the in-person event, Las Americas is now leaning on delivery services to keep food and basic goods reaching homes where people feel safer staying inside.
Staff have been telling regulars:
- They can phone in orders
- Arrange drop-offs
- Limit the need to walk through a public parking lot or stand in line
While deliveries cannot fully replace the community feeling that Taco Tuesday brought, they offer a way to keep the supermarket’s link to nervous customers alive during a tense moment.
Why CBP-led operations matter differently
The fear that pushed a single Rock Hill supermarket to cancel one evening event comes directly from the scale and style of Charlotte’s Web. CBP and Border Patrol agents, rather than ICE officers, are at the center of this operation. That alone makes Charlotte stand out in the national picture.
According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, operations that involve CBP more visibly in interior cities can send a strong psychological message, because many immigrants associate Border Patrol uniforms with checkpoints and roadside stops rather than ordinary city life.
Federal officials have said the operation focuses on people with criminal records who are in the country without legal status. But for many mixed-status families, where some relatives are U.S. citizens and others are not, the fine detail of that mission statement tends to blur. What they see instead are extra patrols, more unmarked vehicles, and word-of-mouth reports of arrests that may or may not match the government’s narrow targets.
Broader community consequences
In Charlotte, that has translated into:
- Empty playgrounds
- Quieter streets
- Parents keeping children at home rather than risk routine traffic stops
Some businesses have temporarily closed or reduced their hours, fearing that any gathering of immigrants could draw attention. The impact reaches beyond those who lack legal status, touching green card holders and even U.S. citizens with foreign-born relatives who worry that a simple misunderstanding could snowball into detention.
Rock Hill sits just over the state line, but for many families in the area, Charlotte is where they work, study, or visit relatives. As immigration enforcement stepped up in the city, residents began to assume that federal agents might just as easily wait in parking lots of grocery stores or restaurants in South Carolina. Even without any public announcement of raids in Rock Hill, the sense of risk has been enough to change behavior.
Economic and social costs for local businesses
The reaction at Las Americas shows how quickly local businesses can shift their plans when immigration news breaks. A weekly food promotion has turned into a stress point, and a store built around in-person community now encourages people to stay home for their own peace of mind.
- Financial cost: The supermarket loses the extra traffic that Taco Tuesday usually brings.
- Management priority: Treating safety concerns as more important than one evening’s sales.
Community workers say this kind of response is common whenever large-scale operations take place. Families:
- Simplify their routines
- Go out less often
- Combine errands
- Rely more on trusted spaces or home deliveries
Some stop attending English classes or cancel medical appointments if they believe federal agents could be nearby. For undocumented residents, every trip out the door becomes a calculation about risk versus need.
Regional ripple effects and ongoing uncertainty
The Charlotte–Rock Hill region shows how those choices can cross city and state borders. An operation technically limited to one city can shake confidence in the wider area, especially when authorities describe it as part of a broader push.
Even people who have lived in the United States for years may feel they are one traffic stop or one address mix-up away from being pulled into a system they do not fully know.
For now, Charlotte’s Web remains active, and the atmosphere in both Charlotte and Rock Hill continues to reflect that. Business owners are watching each new arrest report and adjusting their hours, staffing, and outreach to customers. Parents who once saw Taco Tuesday as a simple school-night treat now weigh whether their children are better off at home.
The story of one Rock Hill supermarket canceling a taco promotion and turning to delivery may seem small next to national debates about border policy. Yet it shows how federal immigration enforcement decisions, made in Washington and carried out in Charlotte, can reach into everyday routines in a South Carolina strip mall, changing how a community eats, shops, and feels safe—at least for now.
This Article in a Nutshell
The CBP-led operation “Charlotte’s Web” began November 15, 2025, and led to 81 reported arrests by November 17. Fear radiated into neighboring Rock Hill, prompting Las Americas Supermarket to cancel its weekly Taco Tuesday and focus on delivery, phone orders, and drop-offs. Residents limited outings, parents kept children home, and some businesses reduced hours. The visible use of Border Patrol, rather than ICE, intensified community anxiety and prompted calls for clearer communication and legal resources.
