Carrboro Alderman Damon Seils has been one of the organizers among local elected officials calling for the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to be abolished.
Seils was one of the North Carolina elected officials as of Wednesday night – the majority of whom were from Chatham, Durham or Orange County – who signed onto a letter urging federal lawmakers to “Abolish ICE.”
Seils said that he signed onto the letter not only because of the increased enforcement that has led to families being separated at the southern United States boarder but also due to the raids that were conducted by ICE in the Triangle earlier this year.
“The raids that happened in April as well as the other immigration enforcement activities that have been going on throughout North Carolina scare people,” Seils said.
He went on to criticize recent actions by federal immigration agents.
“As we’ve seen around the country,” Seils said, “ICE’s tactics have become much more aggressive, and they have been dishonest about their tactics.”
Seils accused ICE of indiscriminately rounding up immigrants without any targeted enforcement.
The Carrboro Alderman added that the goal of signing onto this “Abolish ICE” letter was to amplify the voice of advocates across the country and to push for Congress to take action and close the agency.
“I also think it’s important for members of our local communities to know that we at the local level are committed to our communities being safe places for them to live,” Seils said, “to live their lives, to raise their children, to be members of the community that they’re a part of.”
Seils reiterated that local police would continue working with all residents across the community. No law enforcement agencies in Orange County work in a cooperative relationship with ICE.
“It’s important for members of our community to understand that our local law enforcement is not a part of that and that we want no part of it,” Seils said. “And, as far as I’m concerned, immigrants are and always have been welcome here.”
Law enforcement officials have said that the raids earlier this year were a setback after years were spent in an effort to build relationships with immigrant communities across the area.
Seils said it was important to continue working with advocacy organizations like El Centro Hispano in an effort to continue that relationship building and educating residents of their rights.
“Everyone in our community has the same constitutional rights – the same protections under the law,” Seils said. “And we want everyone in the community, including our immigrant neighbors, to understand that.”
Additional signatures are being added to the “Abolish ICE” letter daily.
Congressman David Price’s office did not respond to a request asking if he would support legislation abolishing ICE. Price has been active in meeting with members of the local immigrant community after the raids earlier this year and called for more transparency from ICE.
Related Stories
‹
![]()
Fiber Internet In 2014?"We’re hoping some of those connections start before the end of this year.”

Widespread AT&T Outage in Orange and Durham Counties Still OngoingAT&T internet and television customers in parts of Orange and Durham County have been without service since around 10 p.m. Thursday night. AT&T described the source of the outage as a “fiber equipment failure” on its website. It posted a timeframe of 24-48 hours until restoration at the time of the outage on Thursday night. […]

Durham Budget Director Dies in Orange County After Being Struck By DriverAn Efland motorist faces charges after striking and killing a bicyclist on Thursday morning, who was the City of Durham’s budget director. John Allore was cycling along the two-lane Bradshaw Quarry Road near Orange Grove Road in southwestern Orange County when he was struck by the driver of a 2020 Toyota car, according to the […]

Chapel Hill, Carrboro Ace Annual Study of LGBTQ+ ProtectionsThe Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro each earned the highest possible scores in an annual review of how inclusive laws are to the LGBTQ+ community — two of just 120 local governments to reach the mark. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation, a national advocacy group against discrimination of the LGBTQ+ population, recently published its […]

High School Football Round-Up: Week 5Every week during the season, Chapelboro will post the scores of local high school football games. Here are the scores from Week 5! Results from Week 4 can be found here. Chapel Hill (4-0): Idle Up next: vs. East Chapel Hill Cedar Ridge (1-3): Lost to Person County, 76-8 Up next: vs. Northwood East […]

Here's How the Chapelboro Community Is Celebrating Earth Day In 2022Earth Day is this Friday, April 22. Multiple celebrations in the greater Chapel Hill community will be held this weekend to commemorate the annual event. Hosted by local organizations and governments, these events will feature activities promoting environmental awareness, education and activism. Here are some of the events happening in Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Durham and […]

Chapel Hill, Carrboro Mayors Recommend Face Coverings, but No RequirementThe City of Durham has been requiring residents to wear face coverings when out in public in an effort to fight COVID-19 since April. But it’s not likely the same legislation will be passed for the towns of Orange County for now. While all levels of government within Orange County have routinely recommended residents to […]
![]()
State Local Officials Push for Solar Power Partnership with Duke EnergyCEO of Duke Energy seeking a partnership to install solar power and energy storage systems at North Carolina schools. Officials from school systems, counties and cities across the state are urging the energy company to provide schools with solar and storage infrastructure, which they have […]

Chapel Hill, Carrboro Mayors Join Others in Condemning ICE RaidsSeven mayors from across North Carolina – including Carrboro, Chapel Hill and Durham – have signed a joint statement declaring “unwavering opposition” to recent raids by federal immigration officials. ICE officials said last week that more than 200 individuals had been taken into custody during recent raids and that not all of those arrested had […]

Growing Number of Local Elected Official Sign Letter to 'Abolish ICE'Carrboro Alderman Damon Seils has been one of the organizers among local elected officials calling for the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to be abolished. Seils was one of the North Carolina elected officials as of Wednesday night – the majority of whom were from Chatham, Durham or Orange County – who signed onto […]
›
Comments on Chapelboro are moderated according to our Community Guidelines