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U.S. citizen landscaper tackled without warrant, joins federal class-action lawsuit in North Carolina

Feb 28, 2026 · Charlotte, NC

U.S. citizen landscaper tackled without warrant, joins federal class-action lawsuit in North Carolina

Yoshi Cuenca Villamar, a 23-year-old U.S. citizen and landscaper from Charlotte, was tackled by immigration agents while working during warrantless enforcement operations across North Carolina in late 2025. Villamar is one of five plaintiffs—four U.S. citizens and a visa holder—who filed a federal class-action lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina on February 28, 2026, against the Department of Homeland Security, ICE, CBP, and USBP. The lawsuit alleges the agencies conducted unlawful warrantless arrests without probable cause during and after Operation Charlotte's Web. ICE arrested 3,304 people in North Carolina between January and October 2025, more than 2.8 times the total during the same period in 2024. The lawsuit seeks to declare the warrantless arrest policy unlawful and block the agencies from continuing such arrests.

Timeline

Feb 28, 2026Federal class-action lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina by Villamar and four other plaintiffs against DHS, ICE, CBP, and USBP challenging warrantless arrests
Nov 15, 2025Operation Charlotte's Web concluded; Yoshi Cuenca Villamar tackled by agents while working as landscaper
Jan 1, 2025ICE and CBP enforcement operations intensify across North Carolina

Sources

More incidents in North Carolina