Protecting Our Immigrant Communities 

Resources for Protecting Our Immigrant Communities

Federal immigration officer presence has been increasing across North Carolina, attempting to terrorize our communities. We will not be intimidated. We call on AAUP NC members to take action to defend vulnerable faculty, students, and staff at our colleges, universities, and communities. We should act in our roles as private citizens, public scholars, and members of the AAUP.

This page is maintained by the AAUP NC Working Immigration Group (WIG), a committee of the state conference composed of volunteers across AAUP NC chapters. AAUP members in North Carolina should contact Cat Warren (cat_warren@icloud.com) if they are interested in joining WIG.

We urge you to take action on your campus:

Invite Siembra NC to provide a training for your chapter—organize a group to attend and to take action together. Siembra is currently training groups to verify ICE / CBP reports as a part of an ICE Watch; they are also training volunteers to contact local businesses and institutions to protect staff rights when dealing with federal immigration enforcement.

Volunteer with Siembra NC. The organization is currently seeking more volunteers who can provide trainings. You can also become an ICE Verifier on your campus or work to establish Fourth Amendment Workplaces in your area.

Work with your chapter to modify and pass AAUP NC's policy framework through the systems of shared governance on your campus. Use this policy as an organizing opportunity to build collective pressure to keep our campus communities safe.

We urge you to take action in your broader community, whether individually or as an AAUP chapter:

Support a trusted organization:

• Charlotte – Carolina Migrant Network

• Asheville – CIMA

• All other NC areas – Siembra NC

View a recent Siembra NC presentation for AAUP NC members:

Volunteer with Siembra NC through their website. They need more volunteers to provide virtual and in-person trainings! Your AAUP chapter can also request a group training from Siembra NC.

See ACLU NC's two-page Know Your Rights guidance for faculty, students, and staff:

This guidance, along with an open letter to college and university counsels and many other forms of guidance, can be found on the Know Your Rights: Immigration Rights page of ACLU North Carolina's website.

Additional Information

Selected federal immigration news in NC – Nov & Dec 2025

• The Guardian, Dec. 17: In Durham, North Carolina, neighbors are protecting neighbors from ICE: ‘We care for each other’

• The Assembly NC, Nov. 26: Border Patrol’s N.C. Operation Was a Test for What’s Nex

• NC Newsline, Nov. 21: On NC State’s campus, hundreds of students protest as fears of ICE persist

You are not alone. AAUP faculty and graduate students at public and private institutions across the state will keep showing up so everyone in our community can work, live, and learn safely. We will remain vigilant on our campuses and in our communities. We will continue to fight for the colleges, universities, and communities we deserve.

Connect with members in your chapter to chart your collective next steps and learn how to support one another.

If you have not yet done so, join AAUP so we can continue this fight together.

If you are already a member, join the AAUP NC Working Immigration Group (WIG) to build the collective power to keep our campuses and communities safe. Contact Cat Warren (cat_warren@icloud.com) to join WIG.