As immigration-related demonstrations intensify across the country, organizers are planning their own protest in North Carolina’s capital city.

A protest and march are planned for Tuesday evening to take a stand against deportations. 

Members with Democracy Out Loud plan to hold a silent protest in front of the Legislative Building as state lawmakers prepare to vote on Senate Bill 153.

Also known as the North Carolina Border Protection Act, it aims to crack down on undocumented immigrants in North Carolina. 

“This is an anti-immigration bill so we are going to be out here with signs and trying to let the public known about this bill and why we oppose it,” shared Maddie Segal, a member of Democracy Out Loud. 

Another member, Mark Swallow, argued such deportations would having a crippling effect on the state’s economy. 

“They pick out food, they pack up our meats, they clean our homes, they build our homes, it’s a significant number,” Swallow said. 

Senate Bill 153, a Republican-backed bill, aims to strengthen coordination with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), charge sanctuary cities with crimes, and prevent undocumented immigrants from collecting state benefits. 

Similar protests have taken place across the U.S., including in Los Angeles, where violent clashes erupted for four days straight. 

In Raleigh, demonstrators stood in solidarity, but not all agree with their message.

Ira Mehlman with the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) supports enforcing SB 153. 

“We’ve seen countless examples over the past few years of horrific crimes that could have been avoided if we kept them out in the first place or if local law enforcement cooperated with federal law enforcement to get the person out of the country,” he said.

FAIR argues illegal immigration is a fiscal burden in North Carolina. 

“This is money that can be used for other price tags in North Carolina,” Mehlman said, attributing costs to public education, health care, and policing.

As debate over the legislation heats up, attention now turns to lawmakers, whose decision could shape the future of immigration enforcement in North Carolina.

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — As the latest travel ban from the Trump administration nears its effective date, ABC11 is hearing from residents with ties to the impacted countries about what it all means.

Haiti is one of the 12 countries whose citizens will be banned from traveling into the United States starting at 12:01 am on Monday, with certain limited exceptions. That ban does not have an end date, and both Haitian Americans in the Triangle and Haitian citizens with ties in North Carolina say they’re concerned about the long-term implications.

“If my parents were banned, there would be no Dominique. So it’s just, it’s a hard realization,” said Dominique Alphonse-Sainvil, a first-generation Haitian American whose parents immigrated to the US in the 1960s.

Alphonse-Sainvil was born and raised in the US, but her ties to her parents’ — and husband’s — home country run deep.

“Being first generation Haitian, you do understand the shoulders that you stand on,” she said.

The North Raleigh resident now helps to run the Carolina Haitian Women’s Society, a Triangle-based organization with chapters across the state. She said the fallout from Haiti’s inclusion in the White House’s most recent travel ban has been difficult to process.

“What’s the next step?” she asked. “Because that’s all both those that are here and those that have loved ones in Haiti are truly trying to grasp.”

It’s also creating new challenges for Haitians involved in philanthropic efforts, like Pastor Jean Alix Paul.

“They sent me some news and told me, ‘Hey, you will not be able to come’. And I was very shocked. So, I mean, I didn’t, you know, I never expected that to happen,” Paul said, recounting a recent, planned trip to the US he had to cancel.

ALSO SEE North Carolina families ‘extremely worried’ over Trump Administration’s new travel ban

Paul regularly visits Raleigh through his church’s affiliation with Raleigh’s Hope Community Church. The pastor also helps run Together 4 Haiti, a non-profit that aims to support Haiti’s kids through education. He says he’s unsure how their work will continue in light of the travel ban.

“We have more than 200 people working for our organization, so now we don’t know how long that will impact us, and if we will continue to be able to help our people. It will be very, very hard,” he said.

Paul added that amid gang violence and domestic instability in his home country, it’s been nearly impossible to get answers in Haiti.

“Where the US embassy is located, actually, there is a gang right there,” he said. “So, it’s not very easy to go through.”

According to the White House, the ban — which impacts 19 countries in total — is to “protect its citizens from aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes.”

Alphonse-Sainvil said the people impacted are much more than that.

“I know we have plenty to contribute both from here and those that are there,” she said. “But you can’t help but not be just completely, as we call it, ‘desolate’”.

I woke up in the shelter around 6 am but took some time getting out of my bed. I slept pretty badly last night and it felt like I had been awake half the night. Baby Feet told us that at some point last night he startled a mouse getting into Islan’s stuff and it ran right behind my pad to the corner by Honey and Moonie. As long as stuff like that happens when I’m asleep, I don’t care, it doesn’t exist to me! If I was awake I don’t know if I’d be able to fall back asleep.

I had a pretty ambitious plan for today to cross the border into North Carolina and do my first 15 mile day. The weather seemed like it would be pretty bad so I wasn’t sure if I could do it. As usual, everyone left the shelter before me. I was ready to go at 8:30, but I decided to stop at the privy last minute since it was pouring. Digging a cathole in the pouring rain didn’t seem like a fun idea. The rain continued in earnest and I moved as fast as I could. The side trail to get back to the AT was quite long and all uphill, and the rain made it a bit harder to navigate.

Once back on trail, I met a section hiker who told me the rest of the guys were just a little further down. There was a gradual climb to start with but it didn’t feel too hard and I kept a decent pace in the rain. Halfway up the climb I ran into Arwen who was heading south on another slack pack to try to finish out the section. We chatted for a minute but quickly got going again as the rain picked up.

Once the trail switched to downhill it was rocky and muddy, but I moved as fast as I could, paying attention to my footing and slowing down in sketchier sections. I passed Tortuga and John, then caught up with Islan. I could see Baby Feet ahead, but he kept his pace up. Islan and I talked about what his presidential ticket would be.

We got to dicks creek and Bill from the green dragon hostel was there to pick up all the guys. I was pleased to see it was only 10:30, which means I had made great time in the rain. I told Bill I was thinking of crossing the border and he was encouraging. Islan also decided to continue on, and I decided to evaluate once I got to the next shelter that was 5 miles away. We got moving again at 11. Islan and I started off hiking together, but I pulled ahead eventually as the rain spurred me to move faster. The trail turned into a stream and there was no point in trying to avoid it.

I ran into three section hikers who said there were some women ahead on trail. I saw Bullseye who was slackpacking south. I finally made it to the shelter at 1:30 ish and saw Mariel, Anna, who I camped with the first night at Springer mountain, and an older hiker I hadn’t met yet named Fire Marshal. I tried to eat quickly and was still deciding what to do, but something inside me just really wanted to continue on. It was early enough and I knew I could do this challenge.

Islan showed up and decided to stay in the shelter so I was on my own. It was too cold to sit for long in wet clothes so I knew I needed to move quickly. I got water, and Fire Marshal offered to filter it for me. I ended up leaving later than I wanted to close to 3 pm and had to climb the .3 side trail back to AT. 

As I left the rain started to slow down and then completely stopped and I felt good about my decision. About two miles away I saw my first bear! It was bit bigger than a cub but seemed too small to be full grown. He saw me before I saw him, and was scrambling so hard to get out of the tree he was in that he fell a few feet, and then bolted off into the woods. It all happened so fast that I couldn’t even get a picture. It was a cool experience and felt like another sign that I should be doing this. I clicked my poles and sang loudly for the next few minutes in case any other bears were hanging around. 

A few minutes later I crossed through my first burn area on the AT. I’m not sure if it was a wildfire or prescribed burn, but it smelled recent. I continued along through the burn for a while before crossing back into a denser forest.

Before I knew it I was at the border crossing! It was an exciting moment and felt pretty cool that I walked for 8 days to enter North Carolina for the first time. All the states until Maryland will be new for me. After the border crossing there were a few cool waterfalls and streams before a gradual climb began.

Never been so excited to see a sign!

The clouds cleared up a bit and revealed some blue skies and sun, which felt like another sign that this push was right for me. As I continued along I heard a loud squawk which startled me. After a second I realized that a grouse was right along the trail and it wasn’t happy to see me. It flew a little further up and was very dramatic when I continued up the trail towards it.

The sun peeking through the trees as I entered NC

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Once the trees switched over to denser rhododendrons and mountain Laurel I knew I was closer to the top, and made it to the peak shortly after. I started descending, feeling like I was moving at a good pace but didn’t check. At 6:45 I knew I was close but felt extremely tired and hungry. My first instinct is always to just try to push on and not want to take breaks, but there was no point in forcing myself to continue if I would be dragging the entire time. I sat down right on trail and rested for a few minutes. My entire body was buzzing and I felt extremely weak. I drank some water and ate a bunch of nuts and other snacks and felt much better. I got going again and was able to move quickly with a new energy. It’s amazing what a difference just taking care of your body makes. Finally, about 40 minutes later I made it to the shelter and felt really accomplished. It feels really good to set a challenging goal and meet it. The trail miles were only 15.4 miles but with all the .3 mile side trails to and from the shelters today my total mileage was 16, which is the longest I’ve ever hiked in a day. 

An exciting patch of blue skies

I had the shelter to myself and I took my time collecting water and making some ramen for dinner. When I was still getting my stuff organized before bed, I saw a little mouse dart out from the side of the shelter towards the picnic table. It ran for cover as soon as it saw my light. I made sure to put any and all attractants super far from myself so the mice would have no reason to come near me, and then cozied up in my quilt to the sound of the rain falling outside the shelter. 

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