When Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection agents descended on North Carolina last month, many local businesses were ready to push back. Posted on store- and restaurant-front windows across the state were signs reading: “private area”, “fourth amendment workplace” and “There’s always room at our table, but to enter past this point, we’ll need to see a warrant signed by a judge.”
The signs are part of a new fourth amendment strategy launched by the North Carolina immigrant rights group Siembra, to teach business owners their rights if federal agents show up at their door. While most Americans can name the rights protected by the first and second amendments, far fewer are familiar with the fourth, which prohibits unreasonable government searches and seizures. Siembra is working to change that, seeing the fourth amendment as a vital tool in fighting against the Trump administration’s brutal immigration crackdowns.
