‘We’ll Need to See a Warrant’: How Businesses Are Using the Fourth Amendment to Push Back Against ICE

When Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection agents swept through parts of North Carolina last month, dozens of local businesses were ready to push back. On windows and doors across the state, signs read: '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.'

What The Campaign Teaches

Those signs are part of a new Fourth Amendment campaign from the North Carolina immigrant-rights organization Siembra. The initiative aims to teach business owners and employees what to do if federal agents arrive — including when agents generally need a warrant to enter private areas like kitchens or storage rooms.

Siembra offers a free workbook, printable posters, workplace trainings, a pledge for business owners and a volunteer canvassing team that encourages businesses to join. So far, more than 250 businesses across North Carolina have signed the pledge, and the workbook is available online for other groups to adapt.

Legal Basics And Practical Steps

The guidance emphasizes several practical protections: employees have the right to call an attorney or advocacy group; business owners can refuse entry to private areas without a warrant; and while a business can shelter an undocumented employee in a private area, there is no legal authority to shelter customers from immigration enforcement.

'The Constitution is the highest law of the land,' said Emanuel Gomez Gonzalez, communications strategist at Siembra. 'Even at a time when there are such flagrant violations, that’s there. If we are to insist on the lawfulness of our governance, the Constitution offers a clear example of inalienable rights. And that includes all of us.'

Reactions From Business Owners

Many owners welcomed the training. Angela Salamanca, an immigrant from Colombia who runs several restaurants in Raleigh and Durham, said she signed the pledge immediately. 'For 15 years I have strategized on how to best protect my undocumented employees from raids, arrests and deportations,' she said. 'We have worked with Siembra for a while, and when they started this initiative, it’s the language we speak.'

Others were slower to adopt the campaign. Jackie Ramirez, a Siembra organizer in Johnston County, recalls approaches that met with skepticism or fear that visible signage might make a business a target. To counter that concern, Siembra has intentionally invited participation from all businesses, not only Latinx-owned shops or those with undocumented staff. The presence of non-Latinx supporters, like Steve Mitchell of Scuppernong Books in Greensboro, has helped normalize the approach and encourage community conversations.

Expansion And Related Efforts

Siembra plans to expand outreach into neighboring towns and to partner with city governments. Durham and Carrboro have signed on to provide municipal employee training, pass resolutions condemning specific ICE actions, and encourage local businesses to adopt the Fourth Amendment campaign. City councils in Chapel Hill and Greensboro are pursuing similar measures.

Siembra’s effort is part of a broader movement nationwide. Groups such as Oregon’s Baddies for the Fourth and the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights have run comparable programs, training communities to assert Fourth Amendment protections and creating so-called 'ICE-free' zones.

An Anecdote: Resistance Can Grow After a Raid

Some business owners change their stance after a nearby enforcement action. Ramirez says that weeks after an initial refusal from a Newton Grove taqueria, federal agents appeared in the roundabout outside the restaurant and began detaining people. Afterward, the owner asked for training. 'I finally met the owner in person,' Ramirez said. 'And he was like, yes, I want the training.'

By combining practical legal guidance, visible signage and community solidarity, Siembra hopes to reduce fear, protect workers and make it harder for aggressive immigration enforcement to proceed without scrutiny.