If someone in the Latino community in general, or the Guatemalan community in particular, has a problem, they know they should call Mónica Del Cid from the organization La Casa del Guatemalteco. This mother and activist does everything, from helping locate missing persons to sending deceased immigrants back to their country of origin. Last November, she faced one of her greatest challenges in supporting her community.
“It looked like war”
On November 15, 2025, Mónica went to the supermarket with her kid. As they were leaving, right in front of her, a heavily armed Border Patrol agent slammed an immigrant onto the pavement. The scene filled her with horror and terrified her six-year-old child. She says she never imagined seeing something like that on the streets of Charlotte.
“They were very tall men with large weapons. It looked like war. That scared me. That’s when I realized how the children of all those people who truly had no documents—who are here without status—must feel. I wondered how they suffer seeing my son suffer,” recalls the director of La Casa del Guatemalteco.
The actions of Operation Charlotte’s Web, in which Border Patrol agents carried out hundreds of arrests, spread fear throughout the immigrant community.
“Many people stopped going to work, stopped leaving their homes—the door where they felt safe—even to buy food or medicine,” Mónica says. “Everyone was so afraid that, for a Latino not to go to work, that’s something that really shows how scared they were. Even I was scared.”
Leaving fear behind
Throughout her life, Mónica has found her purpose in service. She says that, as a woman of action, she decided to set aside her own fear and began seeking help for those affected.
“My heart hurt—I had to do something. So we started working and identifying people’s needs,” Mónica says. “I called a couple of friends who have organizations, told them what was happening, and they gave me food.”
Together with other volunteers, she prepared dozens of food baskets. Then Mónica gathered her courage and went out into neighborhoods at night.
“One thing that moves me is that, during the first nights, I would arrive around 8:00 or 9:00 p.m. and start shouting, ‘Do you want food?’ I knew they needed it, but people wouldn’t respond—they didn’t want to come out because they thought someone was coming after them. People were so scared. I had never seen anything like this in Charlotte. It was very sad,” Mónica says.
Little by little, families began to come out to receive help, and word started to spread. On average, they delivered 160 boxes of groceries to Latino neighborhoods in Charlotte.
Solidarity was greater than the threats
La Casa del Guatemalteco was not alone. Various organizations and individuals showed solidarity with the immigrant community. During Operation Charlotte’s Web, Siembra NC organized several training sessions so that U.S. citizens could protect their immigrant neighbors. More than 2,400 people attended in-person trainings in Charlotte, Hickory, and Gastonia.
During the raids, masked agents were seen being confronted by civilians, who, with whistles, chants, and shouts, condemned and documented the abuses committed by federal officials.
Several community organizations mobilized; many community and faith leaders worked long, exhausting hours coordinating resources to help those affected.
“I know there were many people who, when they saw the agents, began warning others. There are also many heroes we don’t know, and I admire them greatly. Thank you to all those people who were there,” she concludes.
Find this article in Spanish here.
This video was produced thanks to the support of the Charlotte Journalism Collaborative (CJC)
