Triangle school communities try to support immigrants during Border Patrol operation
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Community groups organized volunteers to monitor Border Patrol near Triangle schools.
- Teams stood outside school arrival times to support students and bear witness.
- Organizers formed School-Based Care and Protection Teams in Durham County.
READ MORE
U.S. Border Patrol in the Triangle
The U.S. Border Patrol sent agents to Raleigh, Durham, Cary and other parts of the Triangle Nov. 18 and 19 after a surge of enforcement in Charlotte. Here’s ongoing reporting from The News & Observer.
Expand All
Among those responding to the presence of U.S. Border Patrol agents in the Triangle are parents and other s focused on schools.
Durham Public School Strong, Durham For All and other organizers built “School-Based Care and Protection Teams” to gather outside Durham schools Wednesday through Friday mornings when students arrive. In Wake County, people volunteered to do the same.
The Durham sign-up sheet said teams will “hold signs, lead chants and songs and be prepared to mobilize safe-to-school parades if Durham does become targeted.”
The Wake County N.C. Association of Educators and other groups organized a training Tuesday evening to help school employees and community volunteers learn how to reassure students and families fearful of the federal immigration operation.
The ultimate goal, said Wake NCAE President Christina Cole, is to keep people safe.
“People should have the dignity and the ability to live in our country and their community and to not be afraid of getting kidnapped going to school or going to work and being terrorized,” Cole said in an interview.
The Wake training event nearly filled Raleigh’s Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, Cole said. Experienced activists provided information about how to identify and interact with federal agents who might show up at or near a school.
The crowd then broke into groups, depending on their role in the community. Parents and others talked about “safety patrols” around schools to watch for federal agents and help parents and children feel welcome.
Meanwhile, school employees talked about steps they might take, such as preparing lesson plans for absent students or getting additional emergency contacts should a family member be detained.
“We talked a little bit about mutual aid,” Cole said. “Can we deliver food or groceries or whatever to our families if they’re afraid to leave their homes?”
Many parents appear to be keeping their kids home from school while the Border Patrol is active in the Triangle. In Wake County, nearly 19,500 students were absent from school Tuesday, about 67% more than a normal day, according to county officials.
Durham and Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools also reported higher-than-normal absences Tuesday.
This story was originally published November 19, 2025 at 5:15 PM with the headline "Triangle school communities try to support immigrants during Border Patrol operation."
