Residents urge Lenoir council to adopt protections for immigrant families after recent enforcement

During the "requests and petitions" portion of the Jan. 6 meeting, several speakers — including a pastor who read prepared remarks, nonprofit leaders and immigrant business owners — urged the Lenoir City Council to take steps to protect immigrant families and to create safer conditions for community participation.

A pastor reading on behalf of Pastor Ivan de la Cruz described the emotional toll of immigration enforcement on families and children, and said the pastor's congregation sees fear, silence and trauma among immigrant residents. "This fear is not creating safer neighborhoods. It is creating silence, isolation, and trauma," the reading said.

Martha Lazo, who runs a local nonprofit and works with the Hispanic community, urged the council to help residents who are avoiding school, work and medical care out of fear. Local business owner Hilda Granado described harassment she said she experienced during traffic enforcement and asked the council for compassion for immigrant entrepreneurs and families.

Speakers suggested concrete local steps: pass resolutions limiting local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, fund or host "Know Your Rights" workshops, create advisory boards that include undocumented residents, and direct city staff to train employees on Fourth Amendment workplace protections for municipal facilities. Emmanuel Aza urged the council to declare city properties as protected workplaces where unnecessary searches should require warrants and to run community workshops without requiring significant city funding.

Council members thanked speakers and noted some limits on municipal authority over federal enforcement, but the council did not adopt new policies at the meeting. City staff and council members acknowledged the requests and said they would consider next steps and potential partnerships with local nonprofits.