As the Trump administration rolls out another heavy-handed Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdown in a United States city, residents of Charlotte, North Carolina are not going down without a fight.
Over the weekend, ICE began deploying to Charlotte in droves, now touting over 250 arrests in the area over the past few days. An estimated 56,000 students have been absent from schools in the area since the crackdown began, and thousands have also walked out of school in protest of the raids.
Meanwhile, adults have also been posting up outside of schools, churches, and other community spaces to help alert vulnerable community members to ICE’s presence, as well as to document, and potentially even intervene in, ICE operations.
Local nonprofit Siembra NC has been working to prepare Charlotte residents for this very moment.
The Latine-led organization, which was founded in 2017 in response to the first Trump administration’s “war on immigrants,” has been working to prepare local business owners and community members through “ICE defense” trainings. They also work to empower Latine individuals to get involved in social justice and political organizing and support immigrant workers in North Carolina.
On Wednesday, amidst ICE’s increased presence in the area, the group hosted a “Safe to Work, Safe to School” training with Dilworth United Methodist Church.
The goal was to train volunteers to help immigrants safely get to school and work, while fighting against constitutional violations carried out by ICE.
“We’re going to report active operations that are happening in our city, alert people nearby and offer reminders of our rights,” Rev. Joel Simpson, a pastor in the area leading the training, told the crowd, showing them how to whistle — a tactic that has been employed by many on the frontlines of ICE activity across the country.
“We’re going to document and record unlawful practices, and we’re going to deter violence by getting as many people as possible to join quickly as an organized presence,” he continued, as reported by CNN.
According to Siembra NC organizers, over 1,000 people had registered to attend the church training, though some had to be turned away because there wasn’t enough room.
Co-director of Siembra NC Nikki Marín Baena said it’s an encouraging sign.
“The number of people turning out, volunteering, and speaking out helps us know that North Carolinians do want safety and security,” she said in a statement.
“Safety is created by community members looking out for each other and standing up for each other, not by masked federal agents who are here to create chaos and bring fear.”
Siembra NC and local supporters like churches and other activist groups have been coordinating volunteer shifts, instructing individuals to visit specific locations in the area where they will drive around and alert people with their whistles if and when they spot ICE activity.
The training helps them understand how to keep a safe distance from agents and how not to incite violence or act in ways that are illegal.
Organizers say the training is full of “best practices” learned from similar communities in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.
“They’re coming out on weeknights and they’re saying, ‘This is how we need to be spending our time,’ and ‘We want to be on the streets and in our communities, making sure people are cared for,’” Rev. Simpson told CNN.
“People are telling me as they go through this training like, ‘I’m feeling empowered,’” he said. “‘I feel like I can do something and there’s a way to channel my love and my anger and my fear into something that supports other people.’”
And the leaders of this movement are happy to welcome them in.
Before the training, they stood outside the church, handing out whistles and holding up signs that say: “Loving your neighbors is holy.”
Those in attendance seem to agree.
Maria Klein told CNN she attended the training for “our children who should be able to go to school safely, for our parents who should be able to go to work for the American dream.”
“This was an opportunity to really do something practical and to have an immediate impact.”
Locals interested in getting involved in these efforts can find future training events online or donate to Siembra NC.
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Header image courtesy of Anguskirk (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
