ICE Resumes NC Enforcement as Three Arrested at Durham USCIS

(DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA) Immigration and Customs Enforcement has resumed large-scale operations in North Carolina, with ICE agents arresting three people this week at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services field office in Durham. The arrests, which took place as people were attending immigration appointments at the local USCIS building, are part of a wider enforcement surge across the state that advocates say is spreading fear through immigrant communities far from the border.

Who was arrested and the context

Local organizers and attorneys tracking the cases say the three individuals taken into custody at the Durham office had appeared for scheduled appointments related to efforts to secure or finalize legal status.
Some were permanent residents in the last steps of becoming U.S. citizens. One detainee was a mother with a valid work permit and no criminal record, reportedly detained on the very day she was due to attend her citizenship interview.

Normally, people in this situation expect questions about English tests and civics exams — not whether they might be handcuffed in front of their families.

Scope of the enforcement surge

The Durham arrests are part of a coordinated enforcement wave across North Carolina. Dozens of ICE agents, reportedly brought in from outside the state, have been conducting arrests and surveillance in multiple cities, including:

• Raleigh
• Greensboro
• Apex
• Charlotte
• Parts of Catawba County

Immigrant support groups in the Triangle say the scale and visibility of the operation mark a sharp change from recent years, when interior enforcement in the region had been less aggressive and less public.

Concerns about targeting people engaged with USCIS

Advocates say ICE is now seizing people who are already in the legal immigration system and following government rules. The Durham detainees were reportedly at the field office to handle cases involving green card processing and naturalization.

Common immigration forms mentioned include:

By picking people up at or around these appointments, critics argue, ICE undercuts the idea that cooperating with USCIS is a safe and lawful path.

Tactics and reported behavior

Local groups describe this as a month‑long enforcement campaign centered in the Raleigh area and the broader Triangle. Reports include:

• ICE and Border Patrol teams, some heavily armed and masked, carrying out simultaneous operations
• Agents reportedly ramming vehicles during arrests in some incidents
• Teams staking out homes, workplaces, and public spaces before moving in

This phase follows a separate Border Patrol operation in Charlotte that resulted in more than 130 arrests, according to local tracking. After that sweep, ICE continued with what it calls targeted enforcement across the state.

The agency has not publicly released detailed information about the Durham office arrests or the criteria used to select those taken into custody there.

Local official responses

Some local officials are pushing back against the reported tactics:

• Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam criticized the operations as needlessly aggressive and inconsistent with community values, citing the use of militarized equipment far from the border.
• Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell voiced concern about the presence of heavily armed teams in residential neighborhoods and near schools, workplaces, and government buildings.

Community impact

Community leaders and immigrant advocacy organizations report immediate and visible effects:

• Parents too afraid to send children to school
• Small businesses where workers stayed home, causing increased absences or reduced hours
• Reports of people avoiding travel, especially early morning when many arrests occur

According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, enforcement waves often affect more than just the people targeted. Those impacted include:

• U.S. citizen children with undocumented parents
• Permanent residents who carpool coworkers to shifts
• People with pending USCIS applications who have already shared addresses and fingerprints with the government

When arrests happen at or near a USCIS site, lawyers warn others with pending paperwork may decide to skip future appointments — even if doing so jeopardizes their immigration cases.

Legal guidance and agency distinctions

Legal service providers in Durham and Raleigh say they are fielding calls from people asking whether it is safe to attend interviews at the local USCIS field office. Attorneys emphasize:

• USCIS and ICE are different agencies with different roles
  • USCIS handles benefits like green cards, work permits, and citizenship. Official information is on https://www.uscis.gov.
  • ICE focuses on enforcement and deportation.

However, for many families the distinction feels thin when ICE agents are detaining people who walked into the same building seeking help.

Policy implications and historical context

The developments raise questions about federal coordination and policy choices. Over the last decade, administrations have varied in how enforcement near USCIS spaces is handled:

• Some periods reduced activity near USCIS to encourage people to come forward
• Other periods tightened enforcement

Advocates say the current surge sends a clear message that no place — including schools, churches, or USCIS offices — is completely off limits.

What happens next for those arrested

For the three people arrested in Durham, the legal path likely shifts:

• From USCIS processing to defending themselves in immigration court
• Proceedings can stretch for years
• Pending or planned applications like Form N-400 or Form I-485 do not automatically stop deportation proceedings and may need to be used as part of a defense

Families face difficult choices about whether to stay in the state, move elsewhere in the 🇺🇸 United States, or return to their countries of origin.

Community response and recommended actions

Organizers are emphasizing preparedness and legal resources:

• “Know your rights” sessions
• Encouraging people to plan ahead and gather documents
• Urging consultation with licensed attorneys, especially for people with old deportation orders or criminal records

Local officials opposing the tactics are trying to reassure residents:

• City and county services reportedly do not check immigration status
• Calling 911 should not automatically send information to federal immigration databases

Key takeaway: Many immigrants in the Triangle now say that even stepping into a USCIS office to complete long‑awaited paperwork can carry new dangers. What was once a hopeful step toward stability can now lead to detention and removal proceedings.

The arrests in Durham have transformed what is usually a hopeful administrative step into another place of risk — where a knock on the door, or a name called in a waiting room, could lead not to a new immigration status but to a ride in an unmarked SUV and a bed in a detention center.