ASHEVILLE – City Council and Buncombe County Commission issued a joint statement Nov. 18 to address concerns around civil immigration enforcement in North Carolina. Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer read the statement at the onset of the evening’s council meeting.

“Expected U.S. Customs and Border Protection operations are causing unnecessary fear in our community. We’ve seen what happened in other cities: people without criminal records detained, violent confrontations erupting. We don’t want that here,” the statement said.

“Our community is still recovering from Hurricane Helene. We do not need additional stress and fear.”

Manheimer said Nov. 14, ahead of U.S. Border Patrol operations in Charlotte , that Asheville "may be a targeted city" in Border Patrol and U.S. Immigration and C

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