Rep. Mark Harris told Newsmax on Tuesday that a recent federal enforcement push in Charlotte shows the city faces a public safety problem that local leaders are failing to confront, following another weekend stabbing on the city's light rail system.
Speaking on Newsmax's "National Report" after the arrest of a suspect authorities identified as Oscar Solorzano, the North Carolina Republican linked the latest incident to what he described as weak immigration enforcement and resistance from local elected officials to federal efforts.
"And what it really pointed out to me is just a couple of weeks ago here, we had Operation Charlotte's Web, Border Patrol coming to Charlotte looking to take these criminal, violent, illegal aliens off our streets," Harris said.
"And yet many of our elected officials in Charlotte were just speaking out against ICE and speaking against the Border Patrol and the work that they were doing," he added.
Harris, a North Carolina Republican who serves on the House Judiciary Committee, said the case underscores what he characterized as repeated failures to remove immigrants who commit crimes.
He described the suspect as "an illegal alien who had been not deported just once, but twice," and said he was listed as a "gotaway."
Harris urged local leaders to change course, arguing that residents want stronger cooperation with federal agencies.
"I think it's a shame, I think, that the people are recognizing we've got a problem and the people are calling for our elected leaders, our Democrat leaders in Charlotte, to stop making Charlotte a sanctuary for these illegal aliens," he said.
Harris also criticized the city's priorities in responding to safety concerns on the transit system, citing a city council decision he said funded public messaging rather than policing.
"They voted to spend $3 million," Harris said.
"Unfortunately, not one dime of it was on security, on policing the light rail, but it was $3 million on an advertising campaign."
Authorities are continuing to investigate the weekend attack.
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Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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