Elected officials in Orange County affirmed their support of immigrant community members and criticism of federal efforts that recently brought U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and Border Patrol agents to North Carolina through a statement on Tuesday.
As part of President Donald Trump’s administration’s policy goal to crack down on illegal immigration — and conduct mass deportations of people already in the U.S. — officers arrived in Charlotte over the weekend and arrested more than 130 people in an immigration sweep. Agents were then reported in the Triangle area on Tuesday after the Raleigh mayor warned residents on Monday.
In response, more than 100 North Carolina elected officials, nonprofit leaders, immigrant-rights advocates, organizers and other influential community figures signed onto a joint statement shared with media outlets Tuesday afternoon.
The statement was co-authored by a group of Latine elected officials and leaders in Orange County: Carrboro Town Council members Eliazar Posada-Orozco and Cristóbal Palmer, Orange County Board of Education member Wendy Padilla, and organizers Erik Valera and Humberto Posada-Orozco. Starting with the message to immigrant community members that they “are not alone,” the statement encourages people to be prepared and stay vigilant amid federal searches.
“Federal immigration enforcement activity in Charlotte and across North Carolina have created fear and uncertainty for many families,” reads the statement. “To our beloved, diverse, immigrant community we want to say this clearly: Our community is safe when you are safe, North Carolina is your home as much as ours, and we stand with you.”
The open letter shares recommendations to immigrant families who could be targeted, like creating a family emergency plan, knowing your rights during encounters with law enforcement, keeping a safe distance while observing enforcement actions, and staying connected with community networks that use credible information and resources.
“We know many in our communities are increasingly fearful and distrusting as these actions continue to send waves through our state,” the group said. “We feel it too. We will do everything in our power to protect our community. We ask everyone in our community to help us by being prepared, informed and vigilant.”
Among the other Orange County local government signees as of Tuesday afternoon are Carrboro Town Council members Jason Merrill and Danny Nowell; Chapel Hill Town Council members Paris Miller-Foushee, Theodore Nollert and Elizabeth Sharp, and council member-elect Wes McMahon; Hillsborough Mayor Mark Bell and town commissioners Meaghun Darab and Robb English; Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education members Rani Dasi, Barbara Fedders and George Griffin; Orange County Schools Board of Education members Will Atherton and Carrie Doyle; and Orange County Commissioner Sally Greene.
Orange County’s representatives in the North Carolina House, Allen Buansi (District 56) and Renée Price (District 50) also co-signed the statement.
Meanwhile, Orange and Durham County’s representative in the U.S. House, Valerie Foushee (N.C. District 4) shared her own statement through her office. The message sharply criticized the broad deployment of federal agents across the state and offered help to those in Foushee’s district impacted. The Congresswoman said:
“I am outraged by the continued and expanding deployment of U.S. Border Patrol and ICE agents in North Carolina. Our cities are not border cities, and our state is not a war zone. What is happening in our state, and many others across the country, is completely unconscionable. Yet, the Trump Administration has chosen to initiate policies designed to instill fear, undermine due process, and disproportionately target Black, Brown, and immigrant residents. These aggressive operations conducted with unmarked vehicles, masked agents, paramilitary tactics, and warrantless detentions constitute a deliberate form of racial profiling and intimidation that has no place in our communities.
“This is a profound abuse of power, a violation of civil rights, and a stain on our democracy. I call upon federal authorities to cease these operations immediately and demand full investigations into every allegation of racial profiling and abuse. I stand firmly with our immigrant communities and will do everything in my power to hold the Trump Administration accountable for their oppressive and cruel actions.”
Foushee’s office said residents directly affected by any ICE raids in her district can call her office for assistance and offered an ICE Privacy Release Form that allows third parties to receive information from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security about someone federally detained.
Durham County leaders issued their own statement of solidarity with the local immigrant community on Monday. Mayor Leo Williams began Monday’s Durham City Council meeting by reading a statement penned by himself, Chair of the Durham County Commissioners Nida Allam, and Chair of the Durham Public Schools Board of Education Bettina Umstead — which affirmed Durham’s values of being a “welcoming community” and denounced efforts to incite fear, undermine human rights and compromise safety of residents.
Featured image via AP Photo/Matt Kelley.
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