Roy Cooper Complains About ICE Operations While His State Sheltered Child Predators

The Department of Homeland Security delivered a devastating public rebuke to former North Carolina Democratic Governor Roy Cooper this week after he accused federal immigration enforcement of conducting racial profiling operations in Charlotte. The response was swift, factual, and utterly damning.

Cooper took to social media to claim he supports deporting violent offenders but opposes “randomly sweeping up people based on what they look like.” This is the standard Democratic playbook: acknowledge the problem in theory while undermining every practical solution, then throw in an accusation of racism for good measure.

DHS was having none of it. The agency immediately responded with a specific, documented case that exposes the logical bankruptcy of Cooper’s position. Meet Jordan Renato Castillo-Chavez, a Costa Rican national with a criminal record that includes indecent liberties with a child, first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, and solicitation of a child via computer. North Carolina authorities, under policies Cooper either implemented or tolerated, refused to transfer this individual to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Let that sink in. A foreign national with multiple crimes against children on his record was not handed over to federal immigration authorities. This is not theoretical. This is not about someone who overstayed a visa and started a business. This is about a predator who was shielded from deportation.

The facts become even more damning when examined in context. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin revealed that during Cooper’s tenure as governor, North Carolina refused to turn over more than 1,400 violent criminal non-citizens to ICE. Not traffic violators. Not people accused of misdemeanors. Violent criminals.

McLaughlin dismantled Cooper’s racial profiling claim with surgical precision, calling it “absurd and devoid of fact.” She pointed out the obvious logical consequence of Cooper’s preferred policies: when violent criminal offenders are released back onto the streets instead of being deported, they inevitably reoffend and create more victims.

This is the central question that Democrats consistently refuse to answer: If you release violent criminal non-citizens instead of deporting them, what happens next? The answer is not complicated. They commit more crimes. They victimize more people. The victims are often members of the very communities Democrats claim to protect.

DHS also highlighted a broader problem that sanctuary policies have created in Charlotte. The city has become a hub for human trafficking, with terrorist organizations and gangs exploiting the region’s highway system and geographic location. This is not coincidental. When local jurisdictions refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement, they create safe havens for criminal enterprises.

Cooper’s complaint about federal operations boils down to this: he does not want ICE doing the job that his state refused to do. He had the opportunity to ensure that violent criminals were removed from North Carolina. He chose not to. Now he complains when federal authorities step in to clean up the mess.

The economic and family concerns Cooper raised might carry weight if he were discussing law-abiding individuals. But the federal operations he criticizes are specifically targeting violent offenders and public safety threats. His attempt to conflate targeted enforcement with random racial profiling is intellectually dishonest.

Here is the reality: immigration enforcement is not about what people look like. It is about whether they are in the country legally and whether they pose a threat to public safety. When a state refuses to hand over individuals with documented criminal histories to federal authorities, it is choosing to prioritize ideology over the safety of its residents.

Cooper had his chance to demonstrate that North Carolina could handle immigration enforcement responsibly. The record shows he failed spectacularly. His current complaints ring hollow.