Customs and Border Protection (CPB) agents carried out unannounced operations across Durham on Tuesday, causing widespread fear, school absences and business closures.
Their presence was reported in school parking lots and behind local businesses, drawing condemnation from local officials and resistance from the community. Local officials said at least five arrests were made, but that figure does not tell the full picture.
Around 11 a.m., agents were seen in the parking lot of the All My Children child care center, which largely serves Black and Brown students. The center went into lockdown, and staff members put up signs informing CPB they cannot enter the building, said the daycare’s director, Elisha Muhammad, at a Tuesday afternoon press conference hosted by Siembra NC, an organization that has led community-wide efforts to inform people about ICE and CPB activity in the Triangle. Parents were told they could not drop off or pick up their children during the lockdown. The center ended its lockdown at 5 p.m. and said no agents had entered the premises…