NC group, elected officials call out ICE agent sighting at Durham courthouse
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Siembra NC alerted residents after ICE agents appeared at Durham courthouse.
- Rising ICE arrests in 2025 prompted expanded courthouse monitoring by volunteers.
- Officials, advocates condemned enforcement tactics as harmful to immigrant trust.
A grassroots group in Durham alerted residents this week after immigration officers were seen at the county courthouse.
Siembra NC held a news conference Wednesday afternoon, hours after four federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were seen at the Durham County Courthouse. A caller contacted the group to report the officers were in plain clothes, organizers said.
The group sent alerts to residents who have signed up for notifications and contacted elected officials, who said the agents’ presence frightened some immigrants and other residents of the city.
Andrew Willis Garcés, an organizer with Siembra NC, said the agents were at the courthouse to detain a man who was scheduled for a court appearance. The unidentified man did not show up.
“This is someone who had a first appearance in court, not someone with a conviction,” Garcés said. “ICE does not care about the rule of law, about due process, about public safety.”
Garcés said “everyone deserves to get justice” when they arrive at the courthouse.
The state has seen a 170% spike in ICE arrests, with nearly 2,000 people arrested since January, according to a report by WUNC.
There is growing concern across the country that many of those being arrested have no criminal convictions.
Garcés said that since the start of the year, about 2,000 people have attended Siembra NC’s ICE watch trainings in 20 counties across the state.
So far, there have been ICE arrests at courthouses in Wake, Guilford and Mecklenburg counties and in Durham, prompting Siembra NC to place more volunteers at courthouses to watch out for officers.
‘Just comply’
Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam said at the news conference that she met a young couple coming into the courthouse on Wednesday to get their marriage licenses, but who left after hearing about the ICE appearances.
“They no longer felt safe even coming in to do their court marriage,” she said. “When agents show up in plain clothes to detain someone with a scheduled court appearance, it sends a clear message that immigrant communities are not safe anywhere.”
She said Sheriff Clarence Birkhead said the ICE agents identified themselves to deputies at the courthouse but aren’t required to share more information beyond that.
Lindsay Williams, an ICE public affairs officer, said agents may go wherever they need to, including courthouses.
“If [agents] are wherever, they are there for an official reason,” Williams said, adding that it is typical for them to be in plain clothes.
Williams couldn’t confirm ICE officers were at the courthouse Wednesday but said he gets hundreds of calls every week asking to verify agent sightings.
People concerned about being stopped by ICE should “just comply, don’t resist and listen to what you’re told to do,” he said.
‘A welcoming place’
In a Facebook video, Mayor Leo Williams said while local leaders “cannot override the federal government’s use and weaponization of ICE, we can and must stand in strategic solidarity with our neighbors.”
He urged residents to attend community safety trainings and connect with local immigrant rights organizations.
“My goal is to protect each resident to the best of my ability,” Williams said. “That includes being present, informed, and actively working alongside the organizations on the ground, those who are protecting, educating, and advocating for our immigrant communities every single day.”
Durham City Council member Carl Rist said the city has been working closely with groups like Siembra and, as the son of a German immigrant, the issue is “close to his heart.”
“Durham is making sure that we’re continuing to be a welcoming place for new Americans, immigrants and refugees,” he said. “We’re trying to stay current on this.”
Council member Nate Baker called for the abolishment of ICE, saying the organization has “fascist tendencies.”
“We do not want ICE in our community. We do not welcome ICE in our community. ICE makes Durham more dangerous,” Baker said on his Bluesky account. “ICE is a waste of taxpayer money when we have many other urgent needs.”
Council member Javiera Caballero, an immigrant from Chile, said Durham’s message that it welcomes everyone hasn’t changed “because of fascists in the federal government.”
Planned protest in Durham
The Party for Socialism and Liberation held a protest Wednesday night in downtown Durham, demanding ICE officers stay out of the city.
In a news release, it called the incident at the courthouse on Wednesday an “attempted courthouse abduction.”
“ICE’s presence does not make our communities safer,” said Nicole Drapluk, an organizer with the party. “These courthouse ambushes are not isolated events. They are part of a broader strategy of intimidation and repression targeting immigrant communities across the South, especially in North Carolina.”
Siembra NC will continue to share information about confirmed ICE agent sightings and encourages residents to follow its social media pages, where it posts information in English and Spanish.
This story was originally published July 23, 2025 at 5:14 PM with the headline "NC group, elected officials call out ICE agent sighting at Durham courthouse."