Chapel Hill council declines to take up ICE workplace training resolution
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- Residents urge Chapel Hill council to declare town a 4th Amendment Workplace.
- Mayor says council lacks consensus and seeks expert advice before acting.
- Advocates cite arrests without warrants and call for local protections.
On the dangerous trip from Venezuela to give her daughter a better life in the United States, she twice feared they would drown in the jungle before reaching their destination, a Chapel Hill resident said.
After arriving and getting permission to stay, she thought they “had left hunger, danger and fear behind,” the woman identified only as Corina said in Spanish, aided by an interpreter.
Others who arrived with them have since been detained and deported without due process, she said, and “I now live in constant fear that ICE will separate me from my kids.”
She and other Chapel Hill residents, elected officials and immigrant advocates filled one side of the council chamber Wednesday to ask the Chapel Hill Town Council for a resolution declaring the town a “4th Amendment Workplace.”
The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects people, their homes and papers from unreasonable and warrantless searches and seizures. Carrboro was the first North Carolina town to pass a resolution in May 2025, followed by Durham in September. Boone also passed a resolution in December.
In February, the Orange County Board of Commissioners called on Congress to rein in the Department of Homeland Security and require immigration enforcement oversight and accountability.
Only Chapel Hill Mayor Jess Anderson spoke Wednesday, saying before the public comments that there was no consensus among council members to pass a resolution. It’s an issue that council members “care deeply about,” but the current situation is complex, she said.
“We recognize the significant challenges and fear many in our community are facing right now. We are also deeply concerned about the long-term impacts that this will have on our neighbors,” Anderson said.
The town is working behind the scenes, she added, to build trust with residents, collaborate with local partners, and reach out to community leaders and share information through churches, small groups and community meetings.
“Our town government remains committed to upholding the Constitution and community standards that recognize human dignity, value all people, and seek equity and justice, particularly for vulnerable populations,” Anderson said.
What is the 4th Amendment Workplace movement?
The 4th Amendment Workplace initiative, spearheaded by North Carolina-based Latinx and immigrant rights organization Siembra NC, counters recent federal immigration enforcement actions that advocates say violate people’s rights and disrupt businesses and communities.
A lawsuit filed Tuesday on behalf of five state residents accuses federal Department of Homeland Security agents of attacking or arresting them without warrants or probable cause. The lawsuit says four plaintiffs are U.S. citizens and one has a visa and work permit.
The 4th Amendment Workplace initiative offers training to governments and businesses in how to defend their employees, staff and customers against 4th Amendment violations.
Council members have been discussing a resolution among themselves and with community members, but have failed to reach a consensus about whether it will hurt or help, Anderson said via text message Thursday. Instead, the town is “adjusting and relying on expert advice” for how to proceed, she said.
When asked about the possibility that ICE could target Chapel Hill because of its proximity to Carrboro and Durham, Anderson said a resolution wouldn’t change what federal law enforcement might do, or how a city or county could respond under state law.
A symbolic act to support community
It’s a symbolic act, said Ashley Trudeau, a Chapel Hill resident who said her federal job is at risk, but the “scariest of all is that I know my neighbors are at risk of being ripped away from their families without any oversight or recourse.”
Meanwhile, ICE is building detention centers, stockpiling weapons and training agents, she said.
“But in spite of everything, I’ve really been given a lot of hope by all of our community members. There are so many people stepping up to help, but history does tell us that grassroots action isn’t enough. We need our public institutions publicly on our side,” she said.
Other speakers shared fears about immigration enforcement at election polling sites and near schools. Chapel Hill should lead the nation in standing up to the federal government’s illegal actions, Chapel Hill resident Julie Welch said.
“To be safe, we must stand together as a community and make it clear through our policies and actions that we protect the vulnerable among us and each other,” she said, adding that she understands the council’s concerns about causing more harm than good.
“I feel differently,” she said. “We’ve seen that only through unified public resistance can we show who we are and make change. I believe that we are a safer community if we state openly and clearly where we stand in this current inhumane climate created by our federal government.”
This story was originally published February 28, 2026 at 8:00 AM.
