Last Saturday, Nov. 22nd, two of my friends got arrested. They had been protesting peacefully outside of Krome Detention Center, an institution famous for its inhumane living conditions in Miami, FL. A day prior, back here in Durham, hundreds of locals raised hell at CCB Plaza in an incredible display of solidarity with the immigrant community of our city.
Federal Border Patrol agents arrived and began deporting and detaining immigrants in the Tar Heel State in Charlotte on Nov. 15th, expanding into the Triangle three days later. Over 30,000 students missed school in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg district, with other NC districts following suit with sweeping absences. Despite the barbaric language ICE uses to describe the people they target — “worst of the worst” or “criminal illegal aliens” — testimony shows that Border Patrol seems to rely on racial profiling to decide who they accost and abduct in the street.
Since then, the Department of Homeland Security has detained at least 250 people across the state and intends to detain more. Local officials suggested activity was winding down after the 22nd, but immigrant rights organization Siembra NC warns of the deployment of over 50 additional ICE agents this week…