Thousands of East Bay high school students walk out to protest ICE enforcement
LAFAYETTE, Calif. (KGO) -- Across the East Bay, about a dozen high schools held walkouts to protest protesting federal immigration enforcement activities across the country. One of the largest was at Acalanes High School in Lafayette.
At 2:30 p.m., Acalanes students marched from the campus to the street.
"I think it's incredibly important in a time like now, to show our solidarity as a community, as a nation, for the people affected. And against this authoritarianism," says Miles DeBoy, one of the student leaders who organized the event.
Students chanted. They carried signs. Signs that read: "No ICE!" "No human is illegal." And, "Immigrants built this country."
"I don't think we will see an executive order to disassemble ICE just from this protest. But I think it does show that schools across the Bay care. And that we are standing together against this threat," says DeBoy.
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The student protests stretched across the East Bay, attended by students from at least a dozen schools in cities like Concord, Pleasant Hill, Livermore, Pleasanton and Walnut Creek.
"I feel like I've joined a long history of students who have made their voices heard, even before they were able to vote," says Evelyn Hollenberg, a sophomore Acalanes High. "I do think it's an important conversation for students to have, and for this to not just be a one-time thing, but something we continue to do until ICE is gone."
Earlier in the day, there were lunch time student walkouts in Orinda, Hayward and Fremont.
In Oakland, students at Head Royce marched from their campus on Lincoln Avenue to Highway 13, where they held signs along the overpass.
Many students say it's important to have their voices heard, as their fellow classmates and their families, face threats from ICE enforcement.
"Especially because we can't vote, and generally don't have as much say as an adult does, we really just want them to feel our outage," explains Acalanes sophomore Jayden Diprisco. "And to understand that we are the future of the world that they are creating right now. And we want to make sure that they know that we will not stand for this injustice."
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