immigration

Government numbers from May show nearly 12,000 minors are in shelters after being apprehended at the country's southern border. That number has grown under President Trump's zero tolerance policy, which aggressively prosecutes more border-crossers and has separated immigrant children from their parents. 

At least five children who were separated from their parents at the U.S. southern border have been placed in foster care in South Carolina. In North Carolina, officials who resettle immigrants say they're not aware of any children currently being housed in the state after being separated from their families at the border. But they say the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" immigration policy is affecting immigrants already here.

Sarah Alsammak walked across North Carolina State University's campus pointing out various landmarks. One of her favorite places is the tunnel where students draw graffiti art.

She stopped to pose for a photo – which took longer than it might have, if not for students darting between her and a photographer. She hasn't painted anything on the tunnel walls herself, but said she might before she graduates.

North Carolina is joining a group of 17 states in suing the Trump administration over a new question added to the Census that asks people whether they are U.S. citizens, Attorney General Josh Stein announced Tuesday.

DREAMers, children brought to the United States by their parents and living in the country illegally, are still uncertain about the future of the program that allows them to work and drive, and protects them from deportation.

Updated at 5:50 p.m., September 7, 2017

Fifteen states and the District of Columbia sued Wednesday to block President Donald Trump's plan to end a program protecting young immigrants from deportation — an act Washington state's attorney general called "a dark time for our country."

A few dozen young immigrants stood at the Central Carolina Bank Plaza in downtown Durham on Tuesday, carrying protest signs and shouting, "Undocumented, Unafraid."

A few hundred people gathered in uptown Charlotte on Tuesday to express their anger and fear over the President’s decision to end DACA. They included DACA recipients and those who want to protect the legal status of these immigrants. Here are some of their voices. 

Elver Barrios: "2013 came and I got my work permit and I went to the DMV and I got my driver's license. I was so happy to have a driver's license in the state of North Carolina and to be able to drive without the fear of being deported. 2016 came and many of our dreams were shattered in November." 

President Trump's decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program, or DACA, brought a range of reactions in North Carolina. Congressional Democrats called it a betrayal and cold-hearted. Republicans applauded, though they disagree on how far to go with a law to replace DACA. Immigrant advocates hope for a compromise to help DACA's so-called "dreamers." 

Updated 4:54 p.m.

North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis is applauding the Trump administration's decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program, or DACA. Tillis said Tuesday morning it should be up to Congress to set a long-term policy on the status of immigrants who arrived as children.

Immigrant groups in North Carolina are mobilizing amid reports that President Donald Trump may end the DACA program, while giving Congress six months to come up with a possible replacement.

May 1st is celebrated around the world as International Workers Day. In Charlotte and around the state, rallies showed support for a particular class of workers - immigrants. About 250 people marched in uptown Charlotte.

For the past few years, Doha Altaki and her husband Majd were without a country to truly call home. They are Syrian refugees and fled their home in 2013 after the war began.

Business leaders in the region's immigrant communities say President Trump's tougher line on immigration is having a chilling effect on businesses and the broader economy. Fear and uncertainty are keeping some shoppers home and threatening to dampen investment in immigrant businesses - one of the fastest growing parts of the economy.

North Carolina has a choice to make: either import workers, or import food, according to to North Carolina Farm Bureau President Larry Wooten, who led a delegation of farmers and industry insiders to meet with the state's congressional Republicans in Washington last week.

Federal immigration agents have arrested more than 680 people nationwide since last week, including more than 100 in the Carolinas, in the Trump administration's first major crackdown on people in the country illegally.  U.S. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly acknowledged the operations in a statement Monday, saying about three-quarters of those arrested were a threat to public safety.  But local immigration lawyers and immigrants say the new administration is sowing fear by casting a wider net.

North Carolina's attorney general is joining the legal fight over President Trump's executive action on immigration. Josh Stein, a Democrat, says his office will join a brief with about 16 other states arguing the executive action should remain on hold while the case plays out.