Chapel Hill, Carrboro Mayors Respond to Recent ICE Raids in North Carolina

Seven mayors from across North Carolina signed on to a letter condemning the recent actions by ICE across the state.

Among those who signed were Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger and Carrboro Mayor Lydia Lavelle.

“I’m hoping we’ll get even more mayors to sign on to say, ‘we really do condemn these activities that ICE is performing in our communities,'” Hemminger said.

“They’re ripping families apart. No one was reporting any crimes. No one was asking for them to come do this. We haven’t had those kinds of incidents, and it terrorizes families and communities.”

ICE officials said earlier this month that hundreds of individuals had been taken into custody during recent raids and that not all of those arrested had criminal backgrounds.

Speaking on The Aaron Keck Show, Lavelle said that recent ICE raids have struck fear into the heart of the community. She emphasized her point by saying that her office regularly received calls and text messages from concerned citizens asking if ICE is in the area.

“It has our community members in a state of constant fear, afraid to go places that normally were considered safe: schools, churches and meetings with government officials.”

Along with condemning the actions taken by ICE, Hemminger and Lavelle both referenced that ICE agents having the word “Police” on their uniforms confused community members.

“Members of our community don’t know well enough to know that that’s not the local police,” Lavelle said.

Although recent ICE raids in North Carolina have not been confirmed Orange County, immigration officials arrested an Orange County man in 2018 after a brief standoff with local authorities and another round of raids last spring did impact Orange County.

Shortly after Uriel Aguilar-Castellanos was taken into custody by Orange County authorities in September 2017, ICE placed an immigration detainer on him. He was released from the Orange County Detention Center in June 2018, with Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood citing that Aguilar was released “as required by the constitutions of the United States and North Carolina and in accordance with current caselaw.”

“Aguilar spent close to 300 days in custody awaiting resolution of his charges,” Blackwood said at the time. “At any point during that time, Immigration and Customs Enforcement was able to assume custody of Mr. Aguilar; however, that option was not exercised.”

Hemminger and Lavelle said they are both reaching out to mayors across the state and country as well.

“This is not unique to North Carolina,” Hemminger said. “And cities and mayors across the nation are all saying the same thing to our federal government, ‘We need a plan that has a pathway so that we can make progress instead of just sort of continuing to terrorize families.'”

‹

Local NAACP Branch To Celebrate 75th Anniversary in October

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro branch of the NAACP will celebrate its 75th anniversary in October. The branch is planning several events during that month to commemorate its founding, and announced a tentative schedule on Tuesday. On October 8, the branch will host an Umoja (the Swahili word for “unity”) Read-In, which will “celebrate the culture, cuisine […]

Gov. Cooper Names Chapel Hill, Carrboro Community Members to State Advisory Roles

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper named several people to state advisory boards and commissions on Friday. Among there are a handful of Chapel Hill and Carrboro community members. Dr. Michael Kunz of Chapel Hill is one of those. Cooper appointed Kunz to the North Carolina Plant Conservation Board. His role will be to represent the […]

Orange County Governments Commemorate Pride Month, to Host Events

The towns of Carrboro, Chapel Hill and Hillsborough are all celebrating and commemorating Pride Month this June with several events and public displays of support.

Chapel Hill-Carrboro NAACP Turns to Motorcade to Celebrate HKonJ Rally

Facing challenges caused by the pandemic, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro NAACP used a motorcade to celebrate the annual HKonJ rally in the local area. The Historic Thousands on Jones Street (HKonJ) People’s Assembly Coalition is made up of the more than 125 NAACP branches, youth councils, and college chapters in North Carolina, as well as members of over […]

North Carolina Mayors: 'We Cannot Tolerate This Kind of Police Violence Rooted in Systemic Racism'

Over a dozen mayors in North Carolina have signed onto a letter condemning the actions of the Minneapolis police officers involved in the death of George Floyd and supporting the peaceful protests organized in the wake of Floyd’s death. Read the complete statement below: As mayors of cities in North Carolina, we have come together […]

Groups Protest Gun Violence, 'White Nationalist Terrorism' at Hillsborough Rally

Protesters gathered at the historic courthouse in Hillsborough on Saturday calling for action on gun safety legislation and linking recent shootings to growing acts of “white nationalist terrorism” across the country. A coalition of groups locally and from across the state gathered for Saturday’s press conference following multiple shootings in recent weeks where more than […]

3 CHCCS High Schools in North Carolina Top 25

All three traditional high schools in the Chapel Hill – Carrboro City School District are in the top 25 of the newly released US News & World Report rankings of North Carolina high schools. The rankings are done in coordination with RTI International and were based on scores across six indicators, including college readiness, college […]

CHCCS Cancels Classes on Scheduled North Carolina Teacher Rally

Chapel Hill – Carrboro City Schools will be closed for an optional teacher workday on May 1, as state education advocates have organized another Day of Action in Raleigh lobbying for education initiatives. Last year’s rally drew nearly 20,000 attendees, according to estimates at the time. CHCCS was one of the first districts to cancel […]

Deadline for Local NAACP's College Scholarships Fast Approaching

The last semester of senior year of high school is wrapping up, and many students might already know what their next steps will be after graduation. In other words, an epidemic of ‘senioritis’ might be sweeping the graduating class of 2019. But for many local students going off to college, the worry now is, ‘how […]

Chapel Hill, Carrboro Mayors Respond to Recent ICE Raids in North Carolina

Seven mayors from across North Carolina signed on to a letter condemning the recent actions by ICE across the state. Among those who signed were Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger and Carrboro Mayor Lydia Lavelle. “I’m hoping we’ll get even more mayors to sign on to say, ‘we really do condemn these activities that ICE […]

›