Editor's note: For the safety and privacy of attendees and Siembra NC advocates, many of the names of attendees and their training techniques will be kept out of this report.
Siembra NC is a multicultural, grassroots movement that aims to mobilize members of the community around better labor protection for U.S. immigrants and to combat the threat of deportations by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The non-profit has held these trainings in Guilford, Alamance, and Durham counties. Tuesday night marked the first of these training sessions to be held in Wilmington — coinciding with the many state-wide efforts to prepare Latino immigrant groups for the ramping up of immigration crackdowns.
The event was held in partnership with the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Wilmington, said Michael Sheridan, a member of their Board of Trustees and co-chair of the congregation’s social justice ministry.
“It is time for different faith leaders in different faith communities to live into their stated values, and so we're just trying to live into that. One of our kind of mantras, if you will, is love in action. And so that's why we're doing what we're doing, is to put our love and our values into action,” Sheridan said.
The event brought in a crowd of about 80 people who were all motivated to get certified as Siembra NC verifiers, and stand in solidarity with communities most impacted by ICE. The group group recently told The Assembly that their verifier teams are trained not to interfere with any law enforcement actions, but simply observe and identify the agency involved. This can help quash false rumors of ICE presence and also create important documentation of ICE activity.
One attendee said they were there because they “know people who might need to be protected.” While another said, “I have white, male privilege, so I feel like I’m part of a group who needs to stand up and protect people.”
An employee at the Wilmington-based communal and educational space Sokoto House, Angela Kahney, said, “This is just a particular area that we wanted to be more informed about. We wanted to learn additional resources that we can use to bring in clients and provide a safe way to advocate.” She took the training because she wanted to “learn additional resources that we can use to bring in clients and just provide a safe way to advocate. "
Solidarity is a key factor to making North Carolina safe for all, said one Siembra NC advocate, adding, “North Carolina is our home and nobody should have to live in fear.”
A verifier is someone who is trained on how to spot ICE agents and is equipped with the steps to respectfully intervene when a suspected ICE agent is patrolling their neighborhood.
Siembra NC says the goal of the verifier is to help reduce detentions, mitigate fear and anxiety, strengthen connections with immigrant neighbors and work to decriminalize the people who are immigrants, especially those who are undocumented.
Siembra NC advocates said over 900 unverified ICE sightings have been called in, and even though ICE agents will oftentimes wear plain clothes, drive unmarked vehicles and wear face coverings, the point of verifying the presence of ICE is to ensure no false alarms are sent out — causing unnecessary anxiety.
In the event ICE agents are present in their community, a verifier can call a dispatcher and have them send out a safety alert.
“Nine times out of 10, it’s not ICE,” said a Siembra NC advocate. “But it’s important that, that one time out of 10 we can alert the community.”
Presenters at the meeting said ICE agents are beginning to conduct checkpoints at businesses that commonly hire members of the migrant community.
“They’re counting on us not to know our rights, [and] it’s important that businesses know their rights," one said.
According to Siembra NC’s website, it is well within a citizen’s rights to record an encounter with an ICE agent on your phone (even if they say otherwise), and to ask them to present their badge. People can also obtain the make, model, and license plate of a suspected ICE vehicle.
The non-profit does not recommend that people interfere with ICE arrest or try to escalate the situation. They also recommend becoming a certified verifier by attending a training before trying to engage with ICE agents.
Sheridan echoed that.
“Verifiers do not interfere with any ice activity, but they investigate any supposed sightings or rumors of ice watch of ice activity, just so that the community can know what is true and what is not true,” she said.
Chair of the Latino Alliance of Southeastern North Carolina and Vice-Chair of the New Hanover County Hispanic-Latino Commission Amanda Boomershine spoke briefly at the event.
“We are not okay with the federal government instilling fear in our community. [Immigrants] have a right to live freely and without fear,” she said.
If anyone has information on a verified ICE sighting, they can report to Siembra NC’s hotline at 336-543-0353. They also encourage business owners to visit 4thworkplace.org to learn how to respond during ICE encounters.
