Durham advocacy group demands Duke protect immigrant patients, hospital staff
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- Durham Rising urges Duke and its hospital to bar ICE entry without judicial warrants.
- Advocates report at least a dozen Border Patrol arrests across Durham, Raleigh and Cary.
- Organizers demand staff training and 4th Amendment workplace protections
After at least a dozen people were reported arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents in the Triangle, a Durham nonprofit is calling on one of the area’s largest universities to take action.
Durham Rising, an advocacy group demanding Duke University raise its minium wage and pay local taxes, is also asking the school, and its hospitals, to restrict federal immigration agents entering its buildings.
Organizer Rob Stephens said at a news conference Wednesday they want Duke to require judicial warrants for agents to enter private areas, to train staff on their constitutional rights and to protect workers by declaring itself a 4th Amendment Workplace.
Earlier this fall, the Durham City Council declared the city a 4th Amendment Workplace to protect city workers from searches or interrogation by federal agents on city property.
“If there was ever a time that we needed powerful, principled moral leadership to stand up to meet these demands, today is that day,” Stephens said.
Durham Rising joined other community advocates in front of Duke Regional Hospital to respond to this week’s arrests. Siembra NC, an immigrant rights group, confirmed at least a dozen arrests in Durham, Raleigh and Cary on Tuesday.
Julian Liber, a graduate student, said the Graduate Student Union has been negotiating with Duke to require federal agents show warrants when conducting searches. Liber said so far, there has been no response from the school.
“Our city is a beautiful city because of the hard work of Black, brown, low-wage and immigrant workers who have built this to be what it is today,” he said.
In a statement, Duke officials said they understand the fear and uncertainty that the immigration enforcement activity has caused in the community.
“Duke remains committed to supporting the safety, dignity, and well-being of all members of our community — patients, students, employees, and visitors — regardless of immigration status,” officials said. “Our hospitals and clinics are places of healing, and we follow strict federal and state privacy laws, including HIPAA, to protect patient and staff confidentiality.”
Duke said it does not collect immigration status as part of patient care and has protocols to ensure any law enforcement activity complies with legal standards and “does not disrupt care.”
Andrea Cazales, a nurse and community advocate in Durham, said at Wednesday’s news conference that she has witnessed dozens of immigrant families in recent weeks fearing to come to the hospital for care or to visit their sick newborn babies.
“I’m seeing the stress, the anxiety, the depression,” she said. “ICE presence is a public health crisis. ... Instead of people saying they’re living the American dream, people are saying they’re living the American nightmare.”
Cazales, a daughter of Mexican immigrants, said even she has moments of fear while working and thinking about her own family, and she wants the hospital to protect all patients, staff and workers.
“I feel that there’s no peace,” she said. “But what brings us much joy in this fear is seeing how communities are coming together.”
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This story was originally published November 19, 2025 at 1:02 PM.