In a unanimous vote Tuesday, Durham City Council passed a resolution that makes Durham a “Fourth Amendment Workplace” that adds protections for city workers against U.S. immigration and customs enforcement assaults and arrests.
The Fourth Amendment protects citizens from arbitrary searches and arrests and serves as the basis for search warrants that may cause crime. The resolution directs city staff to “maintain the Fourth Amendment to their workplaces and city institutions and report to the Council on any departmental amendment to any effective training.”
The resolution says the city “has historically sought equity and security for all residents” and that the trust of Durhams is crucial to the city’s business. It said the threat of “unconstitutional seizure” prevented Durham immigrants from “safely participating in public life, including the pursuit of employment and education.”
Less than two months after the move, four ICE agents appeared in Durham County Courthouse for detaining an undocumented person, charged with felony crimes. The officers in light-colored clothes did not arrest anyone, but their presence caused alarm among Durham residents and council members.
“Our residents have witnessed ice sheet agents in our community, instilling widespread fear and uncertainty,” said Durham Leo Williams' mayor of the Durham said of the incident. “Although local leaders cannot legally cover the federal use and weaponization of ice, we can and must maintain strategic solidarity with neighboring countries.” The day, the Durhams organized a peaceful demonstration and marched from a Durham County Court against immigration enforcement.
The Fourth Amendment workplace resolution was introduced by Council member Javiera Caballero and supported by Siembra NC, a group that supports Latino immigrant workers in North Carolina. It is worth noting that Siembra NC also held a rally for bus driver Luis Alonso Juárez, who risked losing his legal status after the Trump administration ended the temporary protection status of Hondurans.
Durham is the second city to pass such a resolution, and Carrboro is the first city in the triangle to formulate a Fourth Amendment workplace resolution in May.
At the Council meeting, various Durhams were supporting increased protections for immigrants.
“Durham celebrates the diversity of many residents and we understand that the Trump administration’s goal of mass deportation is to create a totally created panic around immigration that makes anyone who does not appear white, speaks English or has no stress, whether it is any document or immigration status, whether it is abuse, depravity, or even depravity to the country, or even the commissioner of responsibility, they pay the price.”
Several immigrants and their families favored the resolution and shared stories of anxiety in their daily lives.
“I see too many kids in the community with deep fears to fall asleep and not want to go to school,” said Melanie, daughter of immigrant parents. She added: “No child should endure this anxiety.”
The passage of the resolution marked a victory for the Durham community in its efforts to oppose presence on the ice in the city.
In February, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers arrested 11 Durham residents who were considered “illegal foreigners.” It is unclear whether the 11 detainees had a search warrant for them. Durham residents with immigration backgrounds said they were concerned about their family’s safety and resorted to advocacy hotlines and local community organizations such as Siembra NC to seek support.
The Department of Health and Homeland Security was listed as a “sanctuary county” in April, the Department of Health and Homeland Security said to have not cooperated with federal immigration enforcement. County officials have since rejected the label and said the designation “has no legal or factual basis.”
The North Carolina Convention defeated Gov. Josh Stein's veto power over the Title 10 Act, which directed local sheriffs to comply with federal immigration agents. In the Candidate Forum on August 31, Mayor Pro Tempore Mark Anthony Middleton said he would never support the Durham Police Department in any way to work with ICE.
A spokesperson at the City Council meeting expressed hope that the City of New York promised to train city staff to maintain protection of Fourth Amendment workplace identity.