Apex landscaper says Border Patrol saw his REAL ID and still detained him
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- CBP agents detained a Raleigh-born landscaper at his Apex worksite despite his REAL ID.
- Video of agents removing his handcuffs and throwing his wallet went viral on TikTok.
- Federal agents made at least a dozen arrests in the Triangle and drew state criticism.
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U.S. Border Patrol in the Triangle
The U.S. Border Patrol sent agents to Raleigh, Durham, Cary and other parts of the Triangle Nov. 18 and 19 after a surge of enforcement in Charlotte. Here’s ongoing reporting from The News & Observer.
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Fernando Vazquez doesn’t understand why Border Patrol agents took him into custody Tuesday.
Agents from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) pinned him to a gate at his Cary worksite, handcuffed him and pulled his wallet out. They saw his N.C. REAL ID. But Vazquez, 18, said they still kept him in handcuffs and ushered him into the back of a gray Chevy Tahoe. He sat next to another worker in his early 20s who was crying.
“Honestly, I just felt like I was getting kidnapped, because I didn’t know what else more they wanted from me,” Vazquez said in an interview with The News & Observer.
The agents eventually allowed Vazquez out of their SUV, and he caught a video of them removing his handcuffs and throwing his wallet out of the car, its contents scattering on the ground. The video has over 5 million views on TikTok.
Since starting their operation in the Triangle Tuesday, federal agents have detained at least a dozen people, according to immigrant rights group Siembra NC. Federal agents began “Operation Charlotte’s Web” in Charlotte last weekend, claiming they were targeting violent criminals and the “worst of the worst.” An analysis by the conservative Cato Institute found that 65% of the people taken prisoner by ICE and CBP have no criminal record and 93% have no violent criminal convictions.
Gov. Josh Stein accused federal agents Tuesday of failing to target criminals and instead doing broad sweeps of sidewalks and parking lots and “going into stores and churches,” The News & Observer reported.
“This is not about public safety, and I wish that it were,” Stein said.
‘I was in shock’
Vazquez was born in Raleigh and lives in Apex. His parents are from Mexico, and he works with his dad as a landscaper. He graduated from Vernon Malone College and Career Academy in Raleigh. He was detained close to his former middle school, Reedy Creek.
The day he was detained, Vazquez was working at Lightbridge Academy off Reedy Creek Road. He had gone to a nearby Food Lion to get a drink and when he returned, he walked toward the back of a building to turn on the water and continue watering trees.
As he walked, Vazquez said, he saw the gray Chevy Tahoe pull up onto the sidewalk. That seemed unusual, so he briefly paused. Could it be a building inspector? ICE? Border Patrol? Vazquez pulled out his phone to zoom in and get a better look.
The agents spotted him, he said, and pulled farther onto the sidewalk. Vazquez then told Siri to call his dad. He told him to run and hide. His dad hid in a work truck and was not detained. Vazquez said his father has a legal work permit and is in the process of obtaining citizenship — but he didn’t want to risk CBP taking him away.
The agents stopped Vazquez and a white agent asked him where he was from. He remained silent until a Latino agent asked him the same question in Spanish. Vazquez cursed at the agent — he said wanted to stall the agents so they wouldn’t detain the other workers at the site.
Vazquez said the agents then cornered him and one reached out and took an AirPod out of Vazquez’s ear. Fearing he’d lose it, Vazquez asked the agent to put the AirPod back in his case. The agent refused.
So Vazquez moved to put his AirPod back. But the agent told him, “Look, don’t touch me, bro.” Vazquez said he didn’t touch him, but the situation escalated from there. The agent raised his voice at Vazquez and asked his partner if they needed reinforcements. The agents then handcuffed Vazquez and pushed him against a gate.
Vazquez said he saw eight agents — four from the Tahoe, and four from a Ford Explorer or Chevy Suburban. Agents put him in the back of the Tahoe and drove off.
“I was in shock, basically,” Vazquez said.
While in the car, a different Latino agent asked Vazquez where he was from.
“Here,” Vazquez told him.
“No, where were you born?” the agent asked.
Vazquez told him he was born in Raleigh. He said the agent got angry and cussed him out. But the driver pulled up to a “random property” to let Vazquez go. As he exited, the other detained man, who was sitting next to him, asked Vazquez to tell his brother at the job site that “they got me.”
“At that moment, it broke my heart to know that two brothers were being separated by Border Patrol,” Vazquez said.
The news shocked the man’s brother when Vazquez went back to the worksite to tell him, Vazquez said. He left for the day after the brother told him there was still a vehicle patrolling the area.
Vazquez went back to work Wednesday — he figured he wasn’t likely to be detained again. None of his coworkers showed up that day, having heard what happened.
Vazquez said he had never had an interaction with law enforcement until Tuesday — The News & Observer could find no record of him ever being arrested or convicted — but said he and his family had talked previously about leaving the house only when necessary and showing documentation if stopped. His dad hasn’t been to work since the incident out of fear but plans to return Monday.
This story was originally published November 22, 2025 at 2:50 PM.
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