ICE identifies four men arrested outside Mecklenburg County courthouse

CHARLOTTE — Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested four people outside the Mecklenburg County Courthouse on Wednesday, a spokesperson for ICE confirms to Channel 9. A Channel 9 review of court records shows two of the men arrested had business at the courthouse that day.

According to ICE, agents conducted targeted arrests outside the courthouse and arrested Oscar Lopez-Lopez, Jose Ortiz-Ortiz, Jose Nicolas-Martinez, and Miguel Sanchez-Vega. The four men were taken into custody without incident, ICE said.

Channel 9 reviewed court records and discovered Lopez and Ortiz both had court hearings in Mecklenburg County on Wednesday. Ortiz was due in court on a simple assault charge. Police say he bit someone’s thumb. The Mecklenburg County DA’s office dismissed the charge Wednesday because of a lack of a prosecuting witness. Lopez was due in court on domestic violence charges. He was accused of striking his girlfriend and making her unconscious. The Meck DA dismissed the charge Wednesday due to insufficient evidence.

Channel 9 was unable to verify any known criminal history of the two other people arrested by ICE.

According to ICE, Lopez and Ortiz were both previously subject to detainers but they “were not honored by the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office.”

Court records show a 48-hour detainer was issued to Lopez on January 15. Following the detainer’s expiration, Lopez was released without bail on January 21. In addition to the 48-hour hold, a detainer requests the holding agency to call ICE prior to the release of the suspect. ICE says Mecklenburg County does not make that call. Sheriff Garry McFadden has previously told Channel 9 that the law doesn’t require him to. Speaker Destin Hall is sponsoring a bill that would change this.

The detainer says Lopez is a citizen of Honduras.

A detainer is not showing in court records for Ortiz. However, Ortiz’s original arrest was in 2023. North Carolina law did not require sheriffs to honor detainers until December 2024. That’s also when Mecklenburg County court records started displaying detainers online.

Channel 9 was unable to verify criminal history of Jose Nicolas-Martinez, and Miguel Sanchez-Vega. It is unclear if they also had business at the courthouse on Wednesday.

Sheriff Garry McFadden witnessed ICE making one of the arrests on Wednesday. He told Channel 9 he provided the arresting agents with his personal cell phone number and asked that they call him in advance of future arrests outside the courthouse. He says this will ensure court proceedings are not disrupted. Sheriff McFadden predicted immigration enforcement at the courthouse will continue.

“I do foresee it happening again,” Sheriff McFadden said. “We are going to prepare for it and have conversations with the public, our partners and other law enforcement.”

Sheriff McFadden is creating a policy for future arrests.

A spokesperson for ICE acknowledged the sheriff’s interactions with agents on Wednesday and said the agency appreciates the outreach.

“While the operation was underway, ICE officers were approached by the MCSO Sheriff, who inquired about the enforcement action and expressed interest in revisiting opportunities for future collaboration,” a spokesperson for ICE said. “ICE leadership recently contacted Sheriff McFadden and will continue to work towards building a relationship with MCSO and welcomes a constructive dialogue with all local law enforcement partners to support public safety.”

The Carolina Migrant Network expressed concern about arrests at the Mecklenburg County Courthouse. The group is worried this will scare people from attending court proceedings and visiting the courthouse.

“We have to remember that Mecklenburg County isn’t just for adjudicating criminal charges,” founder Stefanía Arteaga said. “We have small claims court. We have people who are trying to get married within the court. It will have an impact on the community if community members do not feel safe accessing the court system.”

(VIDEO: Man arrested by ICE pleads guilty in court)