Across the county and in North Carolina, immigration is shaping up to be one of the most talked about issues of 2025.
On Inauguration Day, President Donald Trump reiterated what he said on the campaign trail regarding his views on immigration.
“First, I will declare a national emergency at our southern border,” Trump said.
Democrats quickly responded, highlighting the need for broader reforms.
“Securing the border without actually fixing our broken immigration system is dealing with the symptoms and not the disease,” said Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) in the official Democratic response to Trump’s joint address to Congress on March 4, 2025.
Former ICE Director Tom Homan, now serving as the administration’s "border czar," echoed Trump’s stance. “Entering this country illegally is a crime and we're not going to forgive it," Homan said.
But North Carolina Democratic Representative Deb Butler pushed back. “Being here as an undocumented person is not, I will say this straight to the camera, is not a crime.”
The WRAL Documentary team set out to explore how the national debate is playing out in communities across North Carolina.
“I just ask people to see us with dignity, with humanity.”Yolanda Zavala, an immigrant living in Wake County
Yolanda Zavala lives on a quiet street in rural Wake County, where she and three of her daughters each have their own trailers. It’s a setup that lets them raise children and grandchildren together.
“We’re living here so my grandchildren know what family unity is,” Zavala said.
She came to the United States from Mexico nearly 30 years ago, undocumented and determined to give her children a better life.
“There were days when we’d go to bed without eating,” she said. “I wanted them to study, to have a life with dignity.”
Zavala later became a legal permanent resident and worked finishing cabinets. But her youngest son, who came to the U.S. at age five, remained undocumented. When he turned 18, she said everything changed.
He had gone out to play soccer with friends and never made it home. He was arrested during a traffic stop for driving without a license.
“He was detained on a Sunday,” Zavala said. “And by Monday, the 287(g) program had started.”
Section 287(g) is a federal program that allows local law enforcement in North Carolina to partner with ICE to identify and detain undocumented immigrants.
Zavala tried to see him in detention, but he was moved from Wake County to Alamance County, then to Atlanta. He was eventually deported to Mexico, a country he didn’t remember.
“He told me, ‘I don’t know anyone, Mom. Who do you want me to go with?’” she said.
He tried to come back through the desert but was caught and jailed again. After months behind bars, she said he gave up.
“He said, ‘I love you, Mom, but I don’t want to be in jail anymore. I’ll stay in Mexico.’”
He was deported in 2008 but Zavala still feels the pain especially on holidays.
“I waited for his calls on Mother’s Day, Christmas, New Year’s,” she said. “But the chair was always empty.”
According to the American Immigration Council, from 2006 to 2018, more than 23,000 people were deported from Wake and Mecklenburg counties under 287(g) agreements.
While many counties ended those agreements, in 2024, North Carolina passed House Bill 10, requiring all sheriffs to comply with ICE detainers.
“Every day, we wonder if someone in our family won’t come back home,” Zavala said. “I just ask people to see us with dignity. With humanity.”
“Ned, we knew that you'd willingly give everything for any of us without second thought or hesitation. We just never thought you'd have to." Ryan Schmidt at Deputy Ned Byrd's funeral
Deputy Ned Byrd was the kind of person everyone in Wake County seemed to know. For 13 years, he served as a sheriff’s deputy, including time as a K-9 officer alongside his partner, Sasha.
Larry Carter, a friend of Byrd’s and owner of Lola’s Bar, described him as dependable and selfless. “I remember one time I actually locked my keys in my car twice in one night and he helped come and unlock them both times,” said Carter.
On August 11, 2022, Byrd was shot and killed while investigating a suspicious vehicle in southeast Raleigh. He never had a chance to radio for help.
Two undocumented brothers, Alder and Arturo Marin-Sotelo, were arrested for the murder. According to warrants, one brother admitted hearing gunshots while the other remained near the vehicle.
“What were you doing that was so bad, you had to ambush and kill a Wake County deputy. Like right when he walked up they had to ambush and kill him,” said Carter.
Alder later escaped custody while being held in Virginia, fled to Mexico, and was extradited back to the U.S. in February 2025.
“How do you let someone who murdered a law enforcement officer escape?” Carter asked. “We’re glad he’s back so he can be held accountable.”
Larry Carter said he understands why some people support immigration but believes it's important to recognize the full picture.
“I have friends that are like, ‘No, no, no, everybody that comes here is just looking for a better way of life,’” Carter said. “And I get that. I love that. But you have to realize there are also very bad actors. And if they get here, they are going to do bad things, and this is the exact evidence of that.”
Byrd’s favorite song, "Don’t Stop Believin'," played at his funeral. His K-9 partner Sasha led the procession.
“Ned, we knew that you'd willingly give everything for any of us without second thought or hesitation. We just never thought you'd have to,” said Byrd’s friend Ryan Schmidt at the funeral.
“We are human beings. We are not criminals."Cynthia Bautista, a DACA recipient from North Carolina
Since his return to office, President Trump has implemented sweeping immigration changes. Tom Homan, now border czar, claims illegal crossings have dropped by 95% and ICE arrests are up.
Public campaigns encourage self-deportation, and hundreds of deportees have been sent to prisons in El Salvador.
“We’re seeing massive cruelty, and we’re seeing it in a mainstream way,” said Nikki Marin Baena of Siembra NC, a grassroots organization providing support and resources to the Latin community.
Homan has defended arrests of non-criminals while targeting gang members.
“Entering this country illegally is a crime and we're not going to forgive it,” Homan said.
But advocates point out that being undocumented is a civil, not criminal, violation. Some deportations under the new administration have involved people with allegedly no criminal record.
“What I know, because I've been doing this work for a long time, is that they're not going to stick to just the violent criminals. That's not how you get the kinds of numbers that you want to be able to boast about,” said Marine Baena.
Cynthia Bautista, a DACA recipient from North Carolina, spoke at a rally in Raleigh after her husband was detained in Florida while returning from a hurricane recovery job.
“We are human beings. We are not criminals,” Bautista said.
Her husband, who had no criminal record, remains in a crowded Florida detention center.
“They're going after regular parents trying to provide for their family,” she said.
Cynthia joined other families protesting Senate Bill 153 also called the North Carolina Border Protection Act which would require state agencies to cooperate with ICE.
“And it's the kind of thing that if we don't have a border, we don't have a country. And I think that anything that we can do to help our federal law enforcement partners deal with illegal immigration, we should do that,” said Republican Speaker of the NC House, Destin Hall.
Hall also introduced House Bill 318, requiring sheriffs to notify ICE before releasing detainees.
Democratic Rep. Deb Butler said this legislation would deputize the highway patrol. “I guess we're going to weaponize our highway patrol to patrol interstates an profile people, I guess, and check their papers,” said Representative Butler. “We've come to the place where you're going to have to check your papers. Does that sound familiar? Sounds like Nazi Germany to me. That's what that sounds like.”
SB 153 passed the North Carolina Senate on March 4, 2025. It is currently under review in the House Committee on Rules, Calendar and Operations.
House Bill 318 passed its first reading and was referred to committee where it remains under consideration by the House Rules Committee.
Sheriff: There are crimes committed by undocumented people in Alamance County
Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson has worked with ICE for years, despite past legal battles. In 2012, the DOJ sued his department for racial profiling, though the suit was later dropped.
“Let me say this, a whole lot of things were blown totally out of proportion on this sheriff's office and immigration,” said Johnson. “I had to eat it and move on and do what I felt was right and what my oath of office held me to.”
ICE ended its agreement with the county in 2012 and then resumed cooperation in 2019.
“We’re a holding facility for the biggest part of North Carolina right now,” Johnson said.
The facility houses up to 40 ICE detainees, bringing in more than $2 million a year in federal revenue.
Johnson said it’s not a talking point, there are crimes committed by undocumented people in Alamance County. Johnson showed WRAL pictures of cartel-linked drug seizures and murders in the county from 2002 and 2011. “I can tell you we have a few homicides here and a ton of drug cases here,” said Johnson.
Johnson said he’s not worried about undocumented people in his county who aren’t committing crimes.
Advocates like Marin Baena said they’ve heard this repeatedly but aren’t convinced.
“For the White House and for the architects of this kind of messaging, there's not a difference between a criminal immigrant who is a drug trafficker or a rapist, and your friend who happens to be undocumented,” said Marin Baena. “You see a difference. The administration does not see a difference, and it is important to them that all of that start to get blended together.”
For people like Zavala and Carter, while many have big opinions about immigration, they are left to deal with the aftermath.
“To be separated again. That’s my biggest fear,” Zavala said. “Kids don’t understand why someone disappears from their life.”
Larry Carter believes those who downplay the threat of undocumented violence are missing the point:
“If this doesn’t wake people up, I don’t know what will,” he said. “Then the whole immigration fight is lost.”