Charlotte ice cream shop shuts down over threat from ICE to Latino workers and customers, owner says

The owner of a Latino-themed ice cream shop in Charlotte says his workers are too scared to drive to the shop over the threat of being picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Javier Morales is the co-owner of Legends Ice Cream & Snacks, but his is not the only business shuttering over the threat from ICE operations in North Carolina.

'We have shut down. We are an ice cream shop that 80%-90% of our customers are Latino, because we sell Latino ice cream flavors. We have mangonadas, we have Mexican street corn.'

"Right now, I cannot take the risk to bring my employees to be profiled because a lot of them speak Spanish. They look like me. I look like the profile that they're looking for. So it is a risk that I am not willing to take. My customers — the same thing," Morales said.

The Trump administration ordered a surge in federal immigration sweeps in Charlotte named Operation Charlotte's Web. The operation has led to a large drop in school attendance, which many say proves the immense size of the illegal immigration crisis.

"So right now there's a lot of uncertainty — we have shut down," Morales continued. "We are an ice cream shop that 80%-90% of our customers are Latino, because we sell Latino ice cream flavors. We have mangonadas, we have Mexican street corn, we have our Legends products, which are our big sellers that are just full of Latino flavor, and it's what we try to do."

He said that on Sunday, he only had one customer during a two-hour period.

"Even in their face, you could tell that they were scared," he added. "They came in, got their things, and left right out. The weather in Charlotte was beautiful this weekend, and as an ice cream shop, we should have been packed. We should have been busy, and now we're dealing with our shutdown."

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Morales suggested that ICE was profiling people based on their ethnicity.

"It's just really unfortunate that by the look of your skin, you're being profiled and you're being stopped — you're being questioned," he added.

WJZY-TV reported that a U.S. citizen claimed to have been stopped by ICE twice within 10 minutes on South Boulevard, and he was dragged out of his vehicle after his car window was busted out.

One report from the operation indicated that 1 out of every 6 residents in Charlotte are foreign-born.

"We are surging DHS law enforcement to Charlotte to ensure Americans are safe and public safety threats are removed," read a statement from DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. "There have been too many victims of criminal illegal aliens. President Trump and Secretary Noem will step up to protect Americans when sanctuary politicians won't."

A closed sign on the business blamed "icy conditions" for the interruption in service.