How can US Border Patrol come to Raleigh if it’s not near a border?
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- US Border Patrol deploys agents to inland cities like Raleigh under DHS orders.
- Border Patrol retains authority nationwide through CBP and DHS coordination.
- Agents partner with local law enforcement to target smuggling, trafficking, illegal entry.
Even though Raleigh is hundreds of miles from the nearest U.S. border, The News & Observer confirmed U.S. Border Patrol is in the Triangle.
Their presence in cities around the country has been part of the Trump administration’s broader push to crack down on illegal immigration. In Charlotte, for example, Border Patrol agents have already made more than 200 arrests since arriving over the weekend, The Charlotte Observer reported.
Here’s what we know so far about the agency, where it has authority and how it has operated in Charlotte.
Does Border Patrol only work at the border?
Border Patrol is the law-enforcement arm of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security, the Observer previously reported. Their job is to secure the country’s borders and stop things like smuggling, trafficking and unauthorized crossings. (People often lump U.S. Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) together, but they’re separate agencies.)
According to CBP, Border Patrol monitors roughly 6,000 miles along the borders with Mexico and Canada, plus about 2,000 miles of coastal waters around Florida and Puerto Rico.
The agency says that even though it has changed a lot since it was created in 1924, its core mission is still the same: stopping people from entering the U.S. illegally. Border Patrol works with other law-enforcement groups to keep borders functioning, allowing legal travel and trade while blocking illegal activity.
Inside the U.S., immigration violations are typically handled by ICE, not Border Patrol.
Border Patrol, ICE during Trump administration
Even though U.S. Border Patrol typically focuses on the country’s ports of entry, a Homeland Security spokesperson says the agency’s authority extends nationwide.
“Their ability to operate nationwide ensures Border Patrol can enforce immigration laws, combat smuggling and address national security threats anywhere in the United States,” DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin told the New York Times. “Immigration enforcement isn’t limited to border regions when people who slip past the border can still be caught later.”
Border Patrol has made domestic arrests before, but it’s not something that happens often.
National Guard in NC
Calls for federal assistance in North Carolina aren’t new. After the death of Iryna Zarutska on Charlotte’s light rail in August, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Fraternal Order of Police urged President Trump to deploy the National Guard to help reduce crime. But the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department says crime in Charlotte is actually down 8% overall and 20% for violent crime compared to last year.
Meanwhile, a recent Charlotte Observer investigation found that ICE arrests in Charlotte nearly tripled during the first half of 2025 compared to the same period the year before.
The Charlotte Observer’s Briah Lumpkins contributed to this story.
This story was originally published November 18, 2025 at 2:02 PM with the headline "How can US Border Patrol come to Raleigh if it’s not near a border?."
CORRECTION: This story has been updated with accurate distances to the nearest U.S. border.
