‘This is a kidnapping,’ says aunt of man arrested in Pisgah National Forest ICE raid

Argenis Torres Rosales, a 32-year-old Venezuelan asylum seeker with a permit to work legally in the U.S., was arrested Sunday, July 26, when ICE agents, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office swept the Wilson Creek area of Pisgah National Forest, about 90 minutes north of Charlotte, detaining 13 people, according to the Charlotte Observer and WFAE. His aunt, Wuendy Rosales of Hickory, told the Observer that sheriff's officers pulled him over at the creek entrance and asked for his license and registration; she called the arrest “a kidnapping,” saying he is in the country legally with no criminal record. ICE said “many” of those arrested had criminal histories including DUI and illegal reentry; more than 100 people later gathered at a Hudson, N.C. church for a prayer vigil.