Several hundred gathered at Moore Square in downtown Raleigh on Tuesday, Nov. 18 to protest ongoing ICE and U.S. Border Patrol raids in Charlotte and the Research Triangle area. (Photo: Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline)
A daycare center east of downtown Durham went on lockdown late Tuesday morning when federal immigration agents were spotted in the parking lot.
Staff at All My Children Childcare on Angier Avenue locked the doors, put up signs saying agents could not enter, and called parents to tell them not to pick up their children.
Staff tried to shield the children from the disruption and fear that gripped Durham and other cities in the Triangle when U.S. Border Patrol agents arrived Tuesday and began apprehending people.
“We did not want them to be aware of what was going on outside,” said Elisha Muhammad, the childcare’s regional director. “It was very scary for not just me as a childcare provider, but for my staff that take care of these kids every day,” said Muhammad, who described the daycare’s children as mostly Black and brown.
Durham, NC daycare regional director Elisha Muhammad speaks at a Nov. 18, 2025 news conference about staff locking down a preschool after Border Patrol agents were spotted in the parking lot. (Photo: Lynn Bonner/NC Newsline)Muhammad spoke at a news conference Tuesday evening organized by the immigrant rights group Siembra NC and attended by elected officials and clergy.
The aim of the Border Patrol operation is to instill fear, speakers said. The Trump administration has sent federal agents to Democratic-led cities throughout the country in an immigration crackdown. The Border Patrol began operations in Charlotte Saturday and expanded them to the Triangle on Tuesday.
In Charlotte and the Triangle, Border Patrol agents are detaining people who are pumping gas, walking outside grocery stores, hanging up Christmas lights and otherwise going about their daily lives, said Nikki Marin Baena, Siembra NC co-director. Her organization trains volunteers who make video recordings of federal arrests and warn people of the presence of federal immigration agents.
Where Border Patrol is active, there are reports of businesses closed and higher-than-usual public school student absences.
“This administration has a goal of creating intimidation and fear for the immigrant communities and then laughing about it,” Marin Baena said.
Durham City Council member Javiera Caballero praised Durham residents for watching out for each other.
“Durham will not be cowed,” she said. “People will always stand up and defend our neighbors.”
Andrew Willis Graces, Siembra NC senior strategist, said the organization did not know how many people in the Triangle have been detained, but about a half dozen people called the group’s hotline late Tuesday afternoon about loved ones who had been arrested. Border Patrol was spotted in at least 20 locations in the Triangle, he said, but was certain that is an undercount.
U.S. Customs & Border Protection did not respond Tuesday night to questions about how many people from the Triangle were detained, where they are being held, and if they have criminal records.
In Raleigh, a few hundred people gathered in Moore Square, holding signs decrying ICE and Border Patrol and chanting “down, down with deportation.”
“Our friends, our neighbors, our family members are now being forced into hiding,” said Nicole Drapluk, an organizer with the Triangle chapter of the Party of Socialism and Liberation. “Afraid of being kidnapped from their own homes, for simply being human. And they have the nerve to tell us this is about getting criminals off the streets.”
Another Raleigh protest speaker criticized Gov. Josh Stein’s statements on the immigration raids, saying he “can’t open his mouth without saying how much he can’t do for our immigrant community.”
At an event in Johnston County Tuesday, Stein, a Democrat, said his administration has gotten no information about the sweep from federal immigration authorities. He accused Border Patrol agents of “operating in the shadows” in the weekend crackdown in Charlotte.
“If this were targeted to going after known people who are criminals or known people who are drug traffickers who are engaged in violent crime, that would be a good thing,” Stein said. “But they’re just sweeping sidewalks. They’re sweeping parking lots. They’re going into stores and churches.”
“This is causing widespread fear, widespread uncertainty,” Stein added. “This is not about public safety.”
State Sen. Sophia Chitlik (D-Durham), speaking at the news conference outside the daycare center, she was proud of everyone who rallied to protect neighbors.
“We have seen this authoritarian playbook before,” she said. “As a Jew, my people know this all too well. It always starts with attacking immigrants, and it never ends there. I know this in my body, as an elected official, it is my responsibility to do everything that I can to speak out and to stop families from being torn apart.”
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