Dispatch from ICE Protest in Durham on July 23
- Durham Dispatch
- Jul 27
- 6 min read
Around 100 protestors gathered in CCB Plaza on Wednesday evening to oppose the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at the Durham County Courthouse earlier in the day. After speeches in the square, the crowd marched to the courthouse. The demonstration was led by groups including the Party for Socialism and Liberation, El Futuro Es Nuestro, Siembra NC, Somos Durham, and the Autonomous Brown Beret Party. Several local officials attended the rally in CCB Plaza.
The diverse, younger crowd included more Latine participants than typical for left-wing events in Durham. Members of PSL in red shirts and keffiyehs stood at the front of the crowd. Volunteers held a banner reading, “The People United Will Defend Immigrant Families”. Some attendees waved Mexican flags, including one who wore it as a cape. Present were Durham officials Javiera Caballero, Carl Rist, Nida Allam, and Nate Baker, along with candidates Andrea Cazales, Elijah King, and Pablo Friedman. Many of these officials, as well as Natalie Beyer and Jillian Johnson, also attended a protest that morning when ICE agents were still at the courthouse [1].
After 7 p.m., organizers warmed up the crowd with call-and-response chants:
“We want justice, you say how, ICE out of Durham now!”
“When immigrants are under attack what do we do? Stand up, fight back!”
“El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!”
Leticia Zavala from EFEN, a reform group within the farmworkers’ union FLOC, addressed the recent death of Jaime Alanís Garcia during an ICE raid in California.
She said, “Hearing the story of what happened to our companero, we understand that it’s something that has been happening for a long time. Workers are dying. Dying to provide food for us and it’s not the first time. EFEN has been fighting against the deaths of farmworkers since COVID began. Of the H-2A workers that come here, since 2020, 27 bodies have been sent back. COVID, heat, accidents on the job, and it keeps happening. We understand as immigrants that ICE is an accomplice in that system.”
It was unclear whether the statistic referred to bodies sent back to Latin America as a whole and whether the deaths occurred in North Carolina or nationwide.
The hazards facing H-2A farmworkers in North Carolina were illustrated by the death of José Arturo Gónzalez Mendoza in September 2023. He collapsed while harvesting sweet potatoes in 96-degree heat index conditions without adequate breaks or shade. The employer, Barnes Farming, failed to call 911 or provide first aid but received only a moderate fine and no jail time. José was from Guanajuato, Mexico [2].
Mexico is the largest country of origin for US immigrants. Beginning in the 1990s, NAFTA severely harmed Mexican campesinos by undermining small-scale agriculture. The neoliberal treaty flooded Mexican markets with subsidized US crops, particularly corn, driving many small farmers into poverty and spurring mass migration to the US.
When farmworkers organize with groups like EFEN to demand better conditions, employers can retaliate by calling ICE. Many agribusiness owners in North Carolina, such as Commissioner of Agriculture Steve Troxler, are right-wing Trump supporters. Barnes Farming is owned by the husband of Republican state senator Lisa Barnes.
“ICE is just a strategy to keep us more exploited”, continued the Zavala. “We need to keep on our toes and we need to keep fighting, OK? When worker rights are under attack, what do we do?”
“Stand up, fight back!” the crowd responded.
Signs in the crowd included “Plenos Derechos Para Todos Los Inmigrantes”, “Justice for Jaime”, “Defender A Las Familias Inmigrantes”, “La Vivienda Es Un Derecho Humano”, “No Te Rajes”, “Defeat Trump’s Billionaire Agenda”, and “Nobody Is Illegal”.
Members of PSL canvassed attendees about their reasons for protesting and asked for ideas on the next steps for the pro-immigrant movement. In front of the Marriott Hotel, an activist appealed to passing drivers with a megaphone in one hand and picket sign in the other. Many drivers honked in support.
A PSL speaker said, “In Trump’s budget bill is $160 billion dollars allocated to ICE.”
“Shame!” shouted the crowd.
She continued, “Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands or millions of Americans are being stripped of food stamps and Medicaid. Remember those numbers the next time they tell you there is no money for healthcare and education!”
Andrea Cazales, a NICU nurse and Ward 1 city council candidate, also spoke at Wednesday’s event. The incumbent in Ward 1 is DeDreana Freeman, known for progressive stances on annexation and rezoning cases, city workers issues, and a Gaza ceasefire resolution [3].
Cazales said, “Even after working 12 hours at a hospital, taking care of families, I show up. We show up. As I cared for babies and their families in the NICU in Durham, ICE agents were stationed earlier today at Durham County Courthouse, just blocks away. That’s why we are here today, and not just today, but why we’ll continue to be here every single day.”
She continued, “I am the daughter of Mexican immigrants. Even as I pour my heart into taking care of growing families here in Durham, I live with the fear that my own family, my loved ones, could be taken away at any moment.”
Cazales ended her remarks with the chant, “El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!”
The slogan, which means “the people united will never be defeated”, echoed down Corcoran and Blackwell Streets as the crowd marched to the courthouse. Aside from Cazales, no elected officials joined this part of the march. The marchers cut behind the Aloft Hotel, crossed South Mangum Street, and streamed into the courtyard. Speeches resumed beneath the thick, gray columns of the Durham County Courthouse.
A farmworker advocate said, “The work that my parents did brought food to people’s tables. We have always had a huge impact in this country and COVID only made that clearer in terms of how much this country depends on farmworkers where 99 percent of farmworkers are Latino. We do not deserve to get the death penalty for trying to bring food to the table, trying to provide. That is unfortunately what happened to Jaime [Alanís Garcia] and nobody deserves to die on the job.”
On July 10, Garcia fell 30 feet from a greenhouse roof while trying to escape an ICE raid in California. The ICE agents that raided the farm were disguised in balaclavas and rode in unmarked trucks with no license plates. The day after his fall, on July 11, a federal judge issued a temporary injunction barring ICE from arresting suspects solely on the basis of skin color or language. Jaime succumbed to his wounds on July 12 [4]. He was from Mitrocan, Mexico.
A member of the Autonomous Brown Beret Party said, “It’s not a crime for our people to want to be here and it’s not a crime to be proud of our heritage. I see people flying their flags and there is nothing wrong with it. I want to quote MLK real quick, ‘We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. We must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force’. We must learn not to fight hate with hate, for there are brothers of ours here from all races fighting alongside us for our freedom.”
In 2024, when Trump was reelected, a Gallup poll showed that 55 percent of Americans wanted lower levels of immigration. That figure has dropped to 30 percent in 2025. The same poll reported that 64 percent of Americans viewed immigration as “a good thing” in 2024. In 2025, that share had risen to 79 percent [5].
Work Cited
ICE agents at Durham Courthouse spark alarm, protests. (2025, July 23). Indyweek. https://indyweek.com/news/durham/ice-agents-at-durham-courthouse-spark-alarm-protests/
Scientists call for using more accurate metrics to gauge extreme heat after farmworker’s death in Nash County. (2024, March 19). North Carolina Health News. https://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2024/03/19/scientists-measure-extreme-heat-migrant-worker-death-barnes-nash-county/
After progressive stands, Freeman faces multiple challengers for Ward 1 Durham City Council seat. (2025, July 11). Durham Dispatch. https://www.durhamdispatch.com/post/after-progressive-stands-freeman-faces-multiple-challengers-in-ward-1-durham-city-council
Farmworker dies fleeing an immigration raid in southern California. (2025, July 14). New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/us/immigration-raids-farmworker-death.html
Surge in U.S. concern about immigration has abated. (2025, July 11). Gallup. https://news.gallup.com/poll/692522/surge-concern-immigration-abated.aspx
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