Cary Residents Protest Reported ICE Lease at 11000 Regency Parkway

Residents and activists converged at Cary Town Hall and outside the town’s existing ICE field office at 140 Centrewest Court on March 3, 2026, protesting reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement may lease a 25,000-square-foot suite at 11000 Regency Parkway. The Regency Parkway property, listed in a Wired magazine database of more than 150 federal leases and expansions, sits adjacent to Koka Booth Amphitheatre and would be a second ICE office in Cary if occupied, according to reporting and local organizers. A petition opposing the reported lease had roughly 1,100 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon.

The town has not received rezoning or development applications tied to the Regency Parkway site, Mayor Harold Weinbrecht and town officials have said. Weinbrecht wrote on his blog that the town has received “dozens of emails” about the Regency Parkway lease but “did not confirm ICE’s presence there.” He added, “We have no authority over the federal government,” and “At this time, the town has not received any requests or permit applications from ICE. However, they could proceed there, and we do not have the authority to stop them.”

Advocates cited the Wired listing as the chief lead pointing to a possible ICE presence at Regency Parkway while stressing that property-level confirmation remains outstanding. Emanuel Gomez Gonzalez, communications strategist for Siembra, said the group has contacted the property manager and “still are waiting for answers,” and urged elected officials to investigate: “We have heard the troubling news that ICE may be expanding their presence in Cary, and we have reached out to the property manager ourselves—and still are waiting for answers. We encourage local elected officials to inquire into the issue and use their role as the people’s representative to get to the bottom of these plans.”

Local protest activity has persisted since enforcement operations in November, which organizers say triggered a wave of demonstrations. “After immigration enforcement agents carried out a spree of arrests in the Triangle in November, Cary residents organized a recurring protest outside ICE’s field office at Centrewest Court on Friday mornings,” Indyweek reported. Protesters have also held regular actions at major intersections around Cary and on the bridge over Interstate 440 near the N.C. Art Museum.

Federal response has been absent in the local reporting; NC Newsline noted that “ICE did not respond to a request for comment on the lease.” Social media and neighborhood posts continue to mobilize residents: “Posts on social media are encouraging residents to voice their concerns to council members as well as the property owners,” NC Newsline reported, and a Reddit post urged attendance at the Mayor’s 2026 State of Cary Address at Cary Town Hall.

Lawmakers and some local leaders are framing the issue as one of transparency. Foushee said, “Congress and the public have been kept in the dark about ICE’s secretive expansion plans, and the lack of transparency is unacceptable.” Foushee added, “As a cosponsor of the Respect for Local Communities Act, I am working to require full public reporting and oversight of ICE’s lease and enforcement activities. I firmly oppose this possible expansion.”

Residents plan to press town leaders at the State of Cary Address scheduled for March 5, 2026; town spokesperson Carolyn Roman told INDY that “45 residents have contacted the town to express their opposition to the reported lease,” and warned that federal agencies “will operate in ways that do not require local rezoning or municipal approval.” With no municipal filings on record and the property manager yet to confirm tenant identity, Cary officials and community groups say they will seek clarity at the March 5 event while continuing weekly demonstrations at the Centrewest Court field office.