Ruben Urdaneta drove around Durham delivering groceries to customers on Wednesday evening.
He works at the Hispanic grocery store Compare Foods, which started offering free delivery services to shoppers this week in response to immigration enforcement efforts in the Triangle.
Urdaneta has logged over a hundred miles in the last few days, making these deliveries in the evening in his personal car.
"This service is very important for the community," Urdaneta said in Spanish. "We're helping the community during this difficult time when people can't leave their house."
Federal agents have now arrested more than 250 people during an immigration crackdown in North Carolina. The operation began in Charlotte over the weekend and then expanded to the Triangle and other parts of the state. Earlier this week, advocates tracking enforcement reported at least a dozen arrests in the Triangle.
Many Latinos are keeping a low profile and staying home out of fear. Thousands of parents have kept kids home from school. And work on many construction sites across the region has hit a sudden pause.
Hispanic business owners - from restaurants and stores to hair salons - say they’re seeing very few customers this week because people are scared. Some businesses aren’t open at all, and many that are have reduced hours or staff.
Compare Foods General Manager Mani Peña estimates the store has received dozens of delivery requests in the last couple days, adding this service will continue for as long as the community needs it.
"I feel (like) any hardworking family should never feel (scared) to do something as simple as... shopping at the store," Peña said.
He says the program would not be possible without community support.
"I am so grateful. It shows ... the community will step up for what's wrong and work together in moments like this," Peña said.
Many owners say they’re prioritizing the safety of their customers and employees. At one Latino-owned clothing store in Durham, employees are locking the door when customers enter. And at the popular ice cream store La Michoacana, the only employees working are U.S. citizens. Undocumented workers were told to stay home.
The scene is playing out across the region. Census figures show that 15% of Wake and Durham counties population are foreign born. Roughly the same portion of their populations are Hispanic.
Martha Hernandez is an immigrant activist with the group Comité Acción Popular in Raleigh. She also works at a restaurant where she said more than half of the staff hasn't shown up for their shifts this week.
"I've been nervous because of the fact that I'm not a white person and that can call the attention of authorities," Hernandez told WUNC in Spanish.
Hernandez also helps run a local hotline that tracks immigration agent sightings. She says the phones have been ringing off the hook this week, and the community isn't ready to let down its guard just yet.
"We don't know how far [these operations] will go or when they'll end so we don't think we're ready," she said.
