As the News & Observer and the Charlotte Observer report, dozens of people across North Carolina have been arrested this week by federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers. In Sanford, 27 people were arrested in a raid of Bear Creek Arsenal, a firearms manufacturer. Lee County Sheriff Tracy Carter said that the investigation at Bear Creek was focused on identity theft and fraud. A few hours after the Sanford raid, undercover ICE agents arrested several people in a series of traffic stops in Charlotte. ICE spokespersons said that the incidents were not part of a coordinated effort. At the end of last year, ICE said that it planned to increase its presence in the Raleigh area in response to Wake Sheriff Gerald Baker’s decision to end the county’s cooperation with ICE detainer requests.