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NC Unions Demand Trump Administration End Reign of Terror on Immigrant Workers

Jeremy Sprinkle
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For Immediate Release

November 19, 2025

North Carolina’s Unions Demand Trump Administration End Its Reign of Terror on Immigrant Workers

Raleigh, NC – North Carolina State AFL-CIO President Braxton Winston issued the following statement about the Customs & Border Patrol (CBP) invasion of North Carolina:

“The Trump Administration is terrorizing workers in North Carolina. I have seen with my own eyes masked CBP agents racially profile, detain, and abduct a person in Charlotte, seemingly for no other reason than he looked like he was born in another country. And now they are spreading this reign of terror to people going to work, attending church, and picking up kids from school in Durham, Raleigh, and other communities across North Carolina. This is a serious threat to the basic rights of all working people.

“If the Trump Administration truly wanted to fight crime in North Carolina, they would work with local law enforcement to get judicial warrants and make lawful arrests of actual criminals. But what we are experiencing firsthand is a trial run in fascism, not law enforcement. The point is to make cruelty commonplace and federal tyranny typical.

“North Carolina’s unions stand in solidarity with immigrant workers because all working people—Black, brown, white, immigrant, and native born—deserve safety and respect on the job, in school, and at home in their communities. Every resident of our state is entitled to due process and equal protection under the law. No one who exercises their constitutional right to peacefully protest injustice or care for their neighbors should fear their own government.

“Our message to the Trump Administration is this: end CBP’s invasion of North Carolina and focus instead on working with Congress and within the law to address the affordability crisis that is the real threat to the economic security and well-being of the American people.

“To our affiliates, union members, and all allies of the labor movement: we must resist! We call on all workers to plug into efforts by our community partners to help people get to and from work and school safely and educate them on their rights when dealing with immigration agents. Here are some resources:

Contact: Jeremy Sprinkle, 336-255-2711 / [email protected]

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The North Carolina State AFL-CIO is the largest association of local unions and union councils in North Carolina, representing over one-hundred twenty-five thousand union members, fighting for good jobs, safe workplaces, workers’ rights, consumer protections, and quality public services on behalf of ALL working people.