NC Congressman accuses NGO of interfering with ICE
Siembra NC is not the only NC nonprofit making such moves
Freshman Congressman Mark Harris (R-NC-08) has accused a nongovernmental organization (NGO) in North Carolina of aiding illegal aliens in evading Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.
In a thread on X, Harris stated that “Siembra NC” is "openly impeding ICE immigration enforcement and helping illegal aliens!"
In the thread, Harris notes "Siembra NC advertises a “defense hotline” where callers are encouraged to “expose” ICE and other law enforcement officials on the job."
Using a screen capture of Siembra NC's website, Harris said the group "openly announce their purpose is to obstruct ICE from enforcing federal law."
Siembra NC is a 501(c)4 dark money group formed in 2017. The group also has a 501(c)3 arm called Somos Siembra. The current president is Tania Unzueta, who describes herself on her Medium site as "Organizer. Expert on immigration enforcement, criminalization, and deportation defense."
Another name on the officers list for Siembra is Theo Luebke, who is listed as the secretary. Luebke has been involved in a number of left of center organizations and movements in North Carolina such as Downhome North Carolina, Carolina Rising,
Most recently, Luebke has been heading up "Carolina Federation," which has been organizing protests over the still unsettled NC Supreme Court Justice race.
Luebke is the son of the late Paul Luebke, who is a former Democratic lawmaker who represented Durham in the North Carolina House.
The Carolina Journal has a story about Harris' post, which includes Siembra NC's financial details showing the group took in over $2.16 million spanning filings from 2022 and 2023. Top donors included George Soros' Tides Foundation, as well as funds associated with the dark money passthrough group Arabella Advisors.
Arabella Advisors describes itself as a “philanthropic advising firm," yet the majority of their grantmaking goes to leftwing causes/groups. The organization has been linked to the funding of anti-Israel protests in the United States as well as "donor-driven journalism" ventures.
Arabella Advisors set up an office in Durham in 2022 and a 2023 impact report showed a heavy amount of grantmaking in North Carolina.
For a deep dive into Arabella Advisors, check out Capitol Research Center's Influence Watch profile.
More To The Story
Siembra NC is not the only nonprofit disseminating ICE evasion materials to illegal aliens.
The Education Justice Alliance (EJA), a group MTS has written about numerous times in the past, is also offering a toolkit of its own called the "Immigrant Students’ Rights: A Guide for Schools’ Front-Office Staff."
This document was rolled out in EJA's February newsletter.
The newsletter also states, “EJA also provides trainings for organizations looking for guidance around public schools and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activities.” The newsletter directs readers to contact EJA’s “Healing Justice Specialist” for more information.
Among its 2025 policy priorities, EJA lists "Sanctuary Policies to Protect Undocumented Families."
One of the action items under this policy priority is to "Advocate for DPI-issued guidance barring immigration enforcement on school grounds without a judicial warrant."
On the local level, EJA's actions include encouraging school boards to "pass local resolutions (“safe-school” or “sanctuary” policies) if statewide efforts stall."
Additionally, "Prohibit staff from sharing immigration status and train them on responding to ICE inquiries to limit liability and protect students’ privacy," is another action item.
EJA's February newsletter also calls attention to a post on its website titled, "Schools No Longer Safe Space For Immigrant Families."
The post is actually a statement by EJA's Co-Executive Directors Letha Muhammad and Jenice Ramirez-Garvin, the theme of which is that President Donald Trump is making schools unsafe through his deportation policies.
EJA's primary points of focus have been eliminating the Opportunity Scholarship Program, full funding of the Leandro Plan, and student discipline policies, including the so-called "school to prison pipeline" and removal of school resource officers.
EJA is an offshoot of the Southern Vision Alliance, which has also received funding from the Tides Foundation and the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation in NC. Up until he ran for NC State Superintendent, Maurice "Mo" Green was the director of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation.
Southern Vision Alliance and all of its offshoots are partners of Blueprint NC, which has organized all left-leaning groups in North Carolina to attack Republican officials. Formed in 2010, over the past six or so years Blueprint NC has been heavily involved in get out the vote and elections activities.
Important details about EJA can be found in this prior MTS article:
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