Under the Biden administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol officers couldn’t make arrests in churches, schools and hospitals. These places, called “protected areas,” were off-limits for immigration enforcement.
Now, they’re fair game for an ICE officer to enter as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security rescinded the protected areas order.
As a result, immigrants across the state are increasingly fearful of deportation. NC Health News reported physicians were worried about patients missing their appointments because of the possibility of being detained at their clinics and hospitals. INDY Week reported the concerns of the legal advocacy community after a plainclothes ICE officer confronted attorneys at the Wake County Justice Center.
The Border Belt Independent and The Assembly reported how the state’s churches have increasingly empty pews because their parishioners fear being apprehended by ICE. In Cumberland County, residents protested ramped-up detainments and arrests, and expressed concern for their immigrant friends and family going about their daily lives.
CityView asked four formerly protected areas in Cumberland County — Cape Fear Valley Health, Cumberland County Schools and the Cumberland County social services and public health departments — about their policies should an ICE officer request access to their facilities to make an arrest. Most returned statements they would follow state and federal laws, language that immigrant advocacy group Siembra NC and the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina found too vague to offer any real solace to residents concerned about deportation.
“A clear and direct statement about what federal agents are allowed to do, and whether that is within the boundaries of the Constitution or not, would create more safety,” Nikki Marín Baena, Siembra NC co-director, told CityView.
Cumberland County Schools
The Fayetteville Observer initially reported on Cumberland County Schools’ ICE policies in January. When CityView asked about the policies, Lindsay Whitley, CCS’ associate superintendent of communications and community engagement, said the school system “is committed to providing a safe, supportive and inclusive environment for all students and staff.”
“We are aware of and monitoring changes in national immigration policy,” he said. “As a district, we will follow all applicable state and federal laws and continue to provide educational, social and emotional support to our students and staff.”
For the ACLU of North Carolina, the “all applicable state and federal laws” language in CCS’ statement, and others provided to CityView, doesn’t inform residents about what the school system will do if ICE officers request access to their schools.
“‘We will comply with all state and federal laws’ is vague and does not reassure community members that staff at these agencies and departments will take the necessary steps to protect them and their private information,” the ACLU of North Carolina said.
Marín Baena of Siembra NC provided an example of a clear policy from Chicago Public Schools that, among other protocols, specifies that the school system will not allow ICE agents access to CPS facilities unless they produce a criminal judicial warrant signed by a federal judge.
“The question for residents of Cumberland County is, does ‘all applicable federal laws’ include the Fourth Amendment?” Marín Baena said. “As federal courts have ruled several times in February, the Trump Administration’s policies clearly conflict with the Constitution, and our local elected officials should be clear about whether their directives to staff are consistent with federal court rulings or the unconstitutional wishes of the current president.”
Concerns related to ICE violations of the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures, were also raised by the ACLU and immigration advocacy organizations in cities like Chicago. Many of these groups’ “Know Your Rights” brochures specify that ICE is not allowed to search a home or business unless they have a warrant signed by a judge.
February saw federal judges raising other constitutional concerns about current immigration policies. A federal judge in Boston blocked President Trump’s executive order that attempted to revoke birthright citizenship, which is enshrined in the 14th Amendment.
Another federal judge in Maryland blocked ICE officers and other immigration officials from making arrests in a handful of Quaker, Cooperative Baptist and Sikh places of worship. According to CBS’ reporting, the judge stated that revoking the Biden-era protected areas policy “violates the faith groups’ rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the First Amendment.”
Whitley said CCS was reviewing existing school board policies and applicable laws to ensure the system and its employees “are following all legal requirements.”
He said CCS wasn’t aware of any instances where ICE officials have been present on any of its 86 school campuses.
“If a situation arises that impacts a student, staff member or their family, we will work closely with our legal counsel and take appropriate steps to support those involved while adhering to state and federal laws,” he said.
Those supports include school counselors, social workers and other support teams and resources already available to students and staff.
Cape Fear Valley Health
When asked what policies governed Cape Fear Valley Health’s 148 locations across Cumberland, Bladen, Harnett and Hoke counties, Chaka Jordan, the health system’s vice president of marketing and communications, returned the following statement:
“The health and well-being of our patients remain our top priorities, and we are committed to providing exceptional care to all who seek our services. We comply with all state and federal laws while ensuring patient privacy and security.
“As we continue to provide care with professionalism and respect, we will monitor policy developments and educate our staff to ensure preparedness in following proper procedures.”
The ACLU of North Carolina and Marín Baena expressed similar concerns about the language in Cape Fear Valley Health System’s policies as with the school system’s policies.
“These kinds of vague statements require community members vulnerable to ICE detention to make complex determinations about the risks they run simply attending routine medical visits,” Marín Baena said.
Like the protections under the Fourth Amendment, the ACLU of North Carolina’s health center-specific “Know Your Rights” guide says HIPPA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, prevents ICE agents from entering someplace like Cape Fear Valley Health’s Medical Center without a judge-signed warrant.
County departments
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services told CityView it “does not have specific policies” regarding ICE requests to access its facilities, leaving the Cumberland County Department of Social Services and the Cumberland County Department of Public Health to develop their own approaches. With consultation from the county’s legal department, the departments told CityView that specific language in the federal order rescinding protected areas implies that ICE officers wouldn’t enter the social services and public health buildings off Ramsey Street.
The order states that immigration officers use discretion to “balance a variety of interests, including the degree to which any law enforcement action occurs in a sensitive location” when making arrests. It also states that officers should use that discretion “along with a healthy dose of common sense” to decide whether to enter a school, hospital, church or other previously protected areas.
The order’s “common sense” language is what the county’s public health and social services departments said preserves their protected status.
“With that language, they should only detain or make an arrest outside the building,” said Diane Rice, Cumberland County communications director.
However, Marín Baena said it’s unclear whether the “common sense” language truly means ICE would only operate outside the departments.
Across the board, Marín Baena and the ACLU of North Carolina want Cumberland County agencies to be firmer about what they allow and don’t allow ICE and DHS to do on their properties.
“We would want to see agencies, departments and schools make stronger statements that support community members who belong to the immigrant community,” the ACLU of North Carolina said.
CityView Reporter Morgan Casey is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Morgan’s reporting focuses on health care issues in and around Cumberland County and can be supported through the CityView News Fund.