Hundreds protest Border Patrol downtown, chanting ‘Out of Raleigh now’
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- Hundreds gathered at Moore Square to protest Border Patrol deployments in Raleigh.
- Organizers and rights groups reported at least 12 Triangle residents detained by agents.
- Protesters warned raids harm families and vowed continued demonstrations regionwide.
Hundreds of protesters filled Moore Square and then marched through downtown Raleigh Tuesday night demanding an end to federal immigration raids across the Triangle, calling them a “direct, brutal attack” on family and friends.
They carried signs in English and Spanish objecting to the U.S. Border Patrol’s presence, which began Tuesday.
Among the slogans:
“Racists ain’t safe in the Dirty South,” and:
“For everyone that you arrest, a hundred more will show up next.”
Immigration rights groups confirmed federal agents detained at least 12 Triangle residents Tuesday, including inside Raleigh, Durham and Cary.
This comes after Border Patrol agents arrested more than 200 people in Charlotte between Saturday and Monday. The Department of Homeland Security listed arrests for gang membership, assault and weapons charges for some of them.
Referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, protesters repeatedly chanted, “ICE out of Raleigh now! ICE out of Durham now!” and “No fear, no hate, no ICE in our state!”
With a sign that read “Hands Off Our Neighborhoods,” Kaitlyn Polansky of Fuquay-Varina called the Border Patrol presence “insanity.”
“This is not the country I was raised in,” she said. “This is not the country I was taught about.”
She questioned whether there is freedom and justice for all today. The back side of her sign read, “Prison without due process is tyranny. Put ICE on ice.”
Polansky said being at the protest shows her “that I’m not alone in thinking our country is heading in the wrong direction.“
Protesters remained peaceful throughout the Moore Square gathering and march to the Capitol and back.
One organizer fought back tears and told the crowd, “It is a direct, brutal attack on friends and families like mine and yours.”
Emma DeJoseph, a 16-year-old high school student from Zebulon, dressed in a toilet costume with a sign saying “Flush ICE,” a similar federal agency.
She said she finished her homework and headed to the protest with her mother.
“It’s scary right now, scary times,” DeJoseph’s mother, Alisa, said. “So to come out and help support people who are afraid to support themselves, is really important.”
Cars passed the downtown square, honking in approval. Shortly after dark, the protesters took to Raleigh streets for a march, chanting, “Down, down with occupation, up, up with liberation.”
They filled Hargett Street and headed to the Capitol, chanting “People power” as Raleigh police cars blocked intersections to keep cars away.
As she marched up Fayetteville Street carrying a sign that read “(Expletive) ICE,” Dinah Wells of Raleigh said she saw federal agents outside her neighbors’ townhouse on Tuesday and left a note telling them not to answer the door.
“Even as a Black woman,” she said, “I know what it’s like to be profiled. No one should live in fear.”
Back at Moore Square, behind the protesters, Raleigh’s yet-unlit Christmas tree provided a backdrop — a star at its top.
This story was originally published November 18, 2025 at 6:04 PM with the headline "Hundreds protest Border Patrol downtown, chanting ‘Out of Raleigh now’."