Students walk out to protest ICE atrocities, show solidarity with Minnesota

Students at ARHS walked out of classes early on January 30 to join a demonstration on the Town Common led by Amherst College students as part of a nationwide day of protest against U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

According to ice.gov, ICE’s mission is to “protect America through criminal investigations and enforcing immigration laws to preserve national security and public safety.” However, national protests are happening in response to the belief that ICE has violently extended its reach and violated citizens’ legal and human rights. 

Critics point to recent ICE killings, such as the murder of citizen bystanders Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were killed by agents while filming or observing attacks on immigrants in Minneapolis. Objectors say they are upset by the arrests and kidnapping of both undocumented and documented citizens, including those legally seeking asylum, some of them children. 

Protests across the country on January 30 called for a nationwide shutdown, and participants were urged not to spend any money or go to work to draw more attention to the protests. Some businesses that stayed open for survival purposes still shared messages of solidarity and support with immigrant communities and opposition to ICE.

As soon as the third period ended at school, the main lobby overflowed with students holding signs and banners, eager to start the protest. As the crowd came outside, students were hit with a below-freezing wind chill, but they were too passionate to care. 

As the students walked from the high school towards the Common, the police came to block off traffic so they could proceed. Co-organizer and ARHS junior Olive Paradis had a megaphone and was walking alongside the protesters, leading chants like: “What does democracy look like?” “This is what democracy looks like.” 

Coming down Pleasant Street, the protesters were met with encouragement; seemingly every car passing by honked its horn in solidarity, and some drivers waved out the windows.

Milo Goffredo, a junior at ARHS, stated the walkout was about showing that Amherst stood in solidarity with Anti-ICE movements. “We want to show that there are young people who support this issue,” he said.

ARHS senior Ezra Ginsberg said that “even though we don’t have a large ICE presence, seeing all of these people coming out could be really helpful…and it’s gonna be a really good push against the administration.”

ARHS junior Liana Page was a co-organizer of the student walkout who said she hoped to spread awareness of problems with immigration enforcement and to encourage continued student-led activism.

“I am co-organizing the walkout against ICE because I will do anything in my power to keep ICE from deporting and murdering my peers and community members,” said Page. “This walkout [is one step] to achieving the goal of a safe country that has been fought for by activists for centuries.”

Page said her views are formed by her personal identity as a Chinese-American and her knowledge of historical immigration acts such as the Chinese Exclusion Act. “I have always believed in liberty and justice for all, and I feel as though the government is not at all upholding those rights,” she said. “The more we organize, vote, protest, and tell the truth about what ICE does to our communities, the harder it becomes for leaders to ignore us forever.”

Amherst College sophomore Xyoa Wilding, a co-organizer for the protest, said that it was a part of a “nationwide general strike.” According to Wilding, the strike was intended bring immediate attention to immigration enforcement practices and to utilize labor and economic pressure as a form of protest.

“Withholding your money is a huge way to support [the cause],” said Wilding, encouraging supporters to refrain from unnecessary spending, specifically at large corporations, and to skip work or school for the day.

Teachers and other staff members at ARHS who reported to work wore blue clothing in solidarity with Minneapolis and to make a statement in opposition to ICE coming to schools or safe community spaces to harass or detain immigrants. 

Caroline Flinn, another Amherst College sophomore and the president of the Amherst College Democrats, said that she hopes that protests like this will continue, with sustained student-led activism. “Action is important, but sustained action is even more important,” Flinn said, including public conversations. 

Two attendees standing by the bus stop by the Common were holding a sign that said “Stop ICE! Impeach Kristi Noem!” The two decided to remain anonymous but said that they have been participating in demonstrations of a similar nature for years. They said they were especially proud of the large number of young people involved. They described the large student turnout as a clear sign of “generational engagement in political activism.”

The main event held multiple diverse speakers. Including constitutional Attorney John Bonifaz, who is also the president of the nonprofit Free Speech for People. Another speaker was Jeff Conant, a longtime Amherst resident and activist, as well as Maia Seetal of the LUCE Immigrant Justice Network, and ARHS’s Page.

This walkout was not intended to be a one-time event but instead to be the first of many protests for prolonged mass organization and civic participation. At the end of the protest, organizers encouraged everyone attend the upcoming No Kings protest on March 28th. 

For many ARHS students, this was their first time participating in an organized political protest.