GREENSBORO, N.C. — A coalition of North Carolina clergy and immigrant advocates gathered outside the Guilford County Courthouse Tuesday morning to denounce recent immigration enforcement actions and announce a new courthouse monitoring initiative. The press conference, organized by Siembra NC—a grassroots organization that describes itself as opposing what it sees as abuse by ICE and President Donald Trump’s immigration policies—highlighted what they said was the detention of a local man.
Jasmine Lopez, a 23-year-old nursing student and expectant mother, shared an account of her fiancé Marlon Ivan Mendez’s detention by plainclothes ICE agents outside a Greensboro laundromat on June 2. According to Lopez, the agents did not identify themselves before searching Mendez and briefly handcuffing her after she asserted her U.S. citizenship. One agent allegedly told her to “go back to where you came from,” despite her being born in Winston-Salem.
Mendez, also 23, had been scheduled to appear in court earlier that day for a DWI charge from May, according to Siembra NC. He had completed community service and was enrolled in a driver’s safety course. His attorney reportedly rescheduled the court appearance after learning ICE agents were present at the courthouse. Siembra NC claims agents later tracked Mendez to the laundromat.
