Young People and Protest: How is Today’s Generation Reacting to the Current Climate of Immigration Policies?

Recently, high schools across the country have seen rivers of students leaving class in protest of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). There has been public outrage and controversy over actions ICE agents have taken to detain undocumented immigrants, such as using pepper spray on someone pinned to the ground, withholding attorneys from clients, and taken to detention centers where medical care and communication is withheld—regardless of citizenship status, according to The Guardian. Furthermore, the Trump administration is facing increased scrutiny by the public over mishandling of immigration enforcement after two U.S. citizens, Alex Pretti and Nicole Renee Good, were killed in encounters with federal immigration agents. Maryland also saw walkouts, where students called on state leaders to pass legislation limiting ICE practices in the state. Multiple other schools also called for the same action, including George Washington Carver Center for Arts & Technology, and Baltimore City College High School. Baltimore County Public Schools acknowledged their right to protest, as long as students followed orderly conduct, according to CBS News. 

In Washington, similar events are unfurling, specifically here in our school district. On Feb. 9. hundreds of IHS students participated in an anti-ICE walkout. The walkout began at 9:50 AM, with around two hundred and fifty IHS students and one hundred IMS students in attendance. It ended around 11:30 AM, with students either going home or returning back to classes.Issaquah High School and Middle School both released a statement, mentioning that “our students have First Amendment rights to assembly under both the U.S. and state constitutions, we will continue to encourage them to conduct themselves peacefully and respectfully when exercising these rights.” 

The march passed by the community center, where students and organizers filled up the front field and balcony. Protesters’ signs carried slogans such as 'honk if you hate ICE,’ ‘no human is illegal on stolen land,’ and ‘abolish ICE.’ The route continued down to City Hall where students gathered on the steps and encouraged cars that passed by to honk in solidarity. 

One student bought a bag of ice from Jackson's convenience store, and threw it to the ground, stomping on it as people chanted “f—ck ICE, f—ck U.S. imperialists, f—ck white supremacy,” and “we are the future, we decide what happens next, we are here.” 

Multiple protesters carried flags of other countries, such as Mexico and Palestine. The protest was observed by Issaquah Police Department officers and passing pedestrians.

The walkout was for the most peaceful, the exception being an incident in which “two adult social media influencers intentionally engaged students and shared portions of the interaction online,” according to an official statement released by IHS's principal. After the adult verbally engaged with one of the participants, they both grabbed each other, before other participants first attempted to pull the adult off the participant. The two then continued gripping each other, before they were pulled a few feet away from the sidewalk. The adult and participant kept grabbing the others’ jackets before another adult pedestrian succeeded in separating the two. The altercation itself has been spoken about online, with a lot of misinformation circulating around as well. 

A large range of students from Issaquah Middle School and Issaquah High School attended. Freshman Avizura Cura said “I feel like dividing families no matter the race is wrong.” An anonymous student expressed that “walk outs and protests like these are incredibly important. There’s always a worry that students here aren’t actually here for the protests, and instead just to skip classes…but seeing all these people here, with the signs and all these people chanting and marching, it has made me really hopeful. And in dark times like these, you need hope.” 

Other students also voiced their opinions on protesting in general. An anonymous student said that “they’re important (protests), especially when we’re just inundated with news. It’s a good thing to meet up with people and discuss the state of our country… It matters because we’re the future, and we want this country to be good. So that’s why it's important to speak up and act out.” 

As for students who did not attend the walkout, an anonymous freshman expressed why they didn’t: “Those aren't my political alignments. That's not what I stand for politically.” 

Information concerning the walkout spread quickly among students who did not participate. The same freshman, when asked how they felt about the protest, stated that “it’s their constitutional right to do so (protest). Hearing videos about it...It sounds like it did break into a violent protest. It sounds like it wasn’t as peaceful as they said it would be.” 

Ultimately, students expressed their voices would not go unheard. When pushing for change, they organize and show how young people are not only crucial to today’s political and societal climate, but actively care about these topics. An anonymous student put it as “being open-minded and listening to all perspectives and staying true to your principles. The biggest impact you can make is in your circle, and then it works outward.”