North Carolina City Declares Itself “Fourth Amendment Workplace” Amid ICE Raids

Durham City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to declare the city a “Fourth Amendment Workplace,” shielding municipal employees in the North Carolina city from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids without proper warrants.

The resolution directs city staff to “uphold the 4th amendment at their workplace and city agencies and report back to Council any barriers to effective training on the 4th Amendment for any departments,” The Chronicle reported. Durham becomes the second Triangle-area city to adopt such protections after Carrboro passed a similar measure in May.

The vote followed a July incident where four plainclothes ICE agents appeared at the Durham County Courthouse to detain an undocumented individual charged with a felony. Though no arrests occurred, the agents’ presence sparked immediate protests, with residents organizing a march from the courthouse that same day, according to the outlet.

A North Carolina city declared itself a “Fourth Amendment Workplace” amid what it described as “unconstitutional” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and arrests.

FULL STORY: https://t.co/X3PtoW3Ua2 pic.twitter.com/YcXVQclVto

— KATV News (@KATVNews) September 7, 2025

“Our residents witnessed ICE agents in our community, instilling widespread fear and uncertainty,” Mayor Leo Williams said. “While local leaders cannot legally override the federal government’s use and weaponization of ICE, we can and must stand in strategic solidarity with our neighbors.” (RELATED: ICE Rolls Up Hundreds Of Criminal Illegal Migrants In Sprawling Six-Day Massachusetts Raid)

Council member Javiera Caballero introduced the resolution with backing from Siembra NC, an organization supporting Latino immigrant workers statewide, the outlet reported.

During public comment, residents shared personal concerns about immigration enforcement. “I have seen too many children in our community carrying deep fear, unable to sleep, not wanting to go to school,” said Melanie, whose parents immigrated to the United States. “No child should live with that kind of anxiety.”

The Department of Homeland Security designated Durham a “sanctuary county” in April for allegedly failing to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement, though county officials rejected the label as having “no legal or factual basis.”