CHARLOTTE, N.C. — When lights flashed in Luis Duque’s rearview mirror as he drove his boyfriend Oscar to work in Charlotte on Wednesday, he assumed it was police.

But within two minutes, that traffic stop turned into a chaotic interaction with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and ended with his boyfriend being taken away.

The Charlotte Observer is not publishing Oscar’s last name due to safety concerns raised by Duque.

“We were on our way to work,” Duque said in an interview with the Observer on Thursday. “We share the same car, so I usually drop him off first then go to my job.”

Didn’t get to say goodbye

The stop happened just before 8 a.m., after an unmarked Dodge SUV flashed its lights, Duque said.

He pulled over off Independence Boulevard, not far from Bojangles Coliseum, and was immediately boxed in by other unmarked vehicles. About 10 armed federal agents in masks surrounded them on all sides asking for their IDs, Duque said.

“They stated that they’re looking for somebody, an individual, with the same car description as mine, and that they needed to identify us,” Duque said. He drives a 2023 Toyota Camry. The agents didn’t have a warrant or any paperwork, the 24-year-old Charlotte native said.

He handed his ID over, but his boyfriend, who is in the process of becoming a U.S. citizen, didn’t have his. Duque said he heard the agents ask his boyfriend for his first and last name. He said it was difficult to focus on the rest of their conversation because other agents were hammering Duque with questions as well.

He knew what was going to happen the moment the agents identified themselves as ICE, Duque said, but he was still shocked when an agent said Oscar needed to step out of the car because he was being detained. Duque said he pleaded with agents to let him get out; he wasn’t sure when he’d see Oscar again.

They said “you have to stay in the vehicle for our safety,” Duque said.

During the stop, Duque took out his phone and filmed part of his interaction with ICE agents. He shared clips with the Observer. In one, he asked an agent if he could get out and say goodbye “just in case.”

An agent said Duque needed to stay in his vehicle, but that Oscar could hear him from there. When Duque insisted on getting out, the agent declined and said, “All right that’s it, man,” before walking away.

The agents left Duque in his car in tears, with more questions than answers.

And now, two days after his boyfriend was taken away in an ICE vehicle, Duque is wondering what he can do, if anything at all, to get his boyfriend back.

President Donald Trump and his administration have said ICE is arresting criminals, but many of the people arrested in Charlotte and other states have no criminal record or pending warrant.

“These aren’t criminals that they’re grabbing. Oscar has no criminal record,” Duque said.

“It’s about human decency. You wouldn’t want to see your loved one getting taken away.”

Last phone call

Oscar was taken to Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia. Thursday afternoon was the first time Duque heard from Oscar since their last phone call a few hours after his detainment.

The poor conditions of the detention center have been reported in the media, including the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. Detainees have said food was inadequate, there was a lack of medical care, and safety problems with units, including flooding. Two people died at the Georgia detention center in 2025.

On Wednesday, Oscar was taken to the Department of Homeland Security office on Tyvola Centre Drive in south Charlotte. In their brief phone call, Oscar told Duque he was given two options: take $2,500 to self-deport to Mexico or stay at the Georgia detention center and wait three or four months to see a judge.

“Obviously, he didn’t know what to do, and he was asking me what to decide,” Duque said. “But I don’t know. I don’t know.”

When Oscar called from Georgia on Thursday, he said he had a March 9 court appearance scheduled. Duque told him not to self-deport. Duque said he spoke with a lawyer about trying to get Oscar out of the detention center and back to Charlotte for his case.

Duque only got to speak to Oscar for about a minute before the call ended, he said, but Oscar said conditions in the detention center were bad.

He said he hopes Oscar will be able to come back to Charlotte soon. He was worried that if Oscar was deported to Mexico, where he was born, Oscar would be in a country where he has no family or support. Oscar has lived in Charlotte since he was two, Duque said.

ICE spokesperson Lindsay Williams did not respond to questions emailed by the Observer Thursday.

Seeking legal help

Oscar has been working with a lawyer since 2018 to become a U.S. citizen, Duque said. Recently, Oscar took steps to getting his citizenship with key paperwork filed, Duque said. But now Duque is frustrated, he said.

The lawyer who was working with Oscar seems to have no urgency in the matter and won’t communicate with Duque since he’s not the client.

Duque has reached out to other lawyers who seem to be more motivated and understand the urgency of the situation, he said.

He and Oscar’s family have come to rely on each other and other loved ones since this started. He said he’s been moved by the amount of support he’s received, but still worries about Oscar.

“Those detention centers are horrible,” Duque said. “Jail is a mercy compared to those centers.”

If he had been able to get out of his car and say goodbye to Oscar, Duque said he would have told him to be strong.

“At least give him a hug,” Duque said. “I don’t know what’s gonna happen.”

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