U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) just implored Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to defy President Donald Trump's deportation orders for illegal immigrants. 

The Daily Mail reports that Kelly did so during a recent interview with Deseret News.

This comes after the Trump administration recently announced that it will be taking its immigration crackdown to Charlotte, North Carolina.

🚨 NEW: President Trump is planning to SURGE Border Patrol assets into Charlotte, NC to conduct a large scale immigration operation

ALL Democrat run cities should be receiving surges!

We can’t take our country back until MILLIONS are deported. pic.twitter.com/WGQybGPVxV

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) November 13, 2025

Background

Several outlets reported this past week that the Trump administration is targeting Charlotte for an illegal immigration crackdown.

Politico reported:

The Mecklenburg County sheriff’s office on Thursday said the sheriff, Garry L. McFadden, was contacted by two unnamed federal officials this week who said U.S. Customs and Border Patrol personnel will be arriving in the Charlotte area either Saturday or early next week. Mecklenburg County encompasses Charlotte.

The Trump administration has kept silent about the reports.

The Associated Press reports:

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin declined to comment, saying, “Every day, DHS enforces the laws of the nation across the country. We do not discuss future or potential operations.”

Democratic leaders are already trying to fight back against the potential crackdown.

"You don't have to follow..."

Among those Democrats who are fighting back is Sen. Kelly. As mentioned, he is actually urging ICE officers to simply disobey Trump orders.

Kelly said:

You can't be told to violate people's constitutional rights. People have to stand up and say, no, I'm not going to do that. I'd like to see them wearing an ID, not wearing masks, and telling Stephen Miller, or Kristi Noem that we will follow the law and there are limits to what we will do. And we're not violating people's constitutional rights.

Other Democrats have made similar statements about these crackdowns. Some, like U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), even took things a step further.

Fox News reported:

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s comments calling for the arrest of federal ICE agents drew fiery criticism Friday and a letter of warning from the Trump administration. Rep. Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement earlier this week that local police could "arrest federal agents if they break California law." "And if they are convicted, the President cannot pardon them," Pelosi and Rep. Kevin Mullin said in a joint statement.

Pelosi, however, has gone quiet after DOJ attorneys said, "You cannot touch federal agents when they’re doing their job."