Max Herman/Borderless MagazineThe walkout is part of a series of student protests across Chicago amid a surge in immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump.
Editor’s note [2/19]: Borderless Magazine has chosen not to publish the full names of some of these students for safety and privacy. For questions, please contact us at [email protected]
Hundreds of students from at least a dozen high schools and colleges in Chicago walked out of school earlier this month to protest against heightened U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations.
Many of them carried posters of people who have been killed by federal immigration agents in the last five months, including Silverio Villegas-González, Keith Porter and Renne Good.
The protesters danced to music and stomped over pictures of President Donald Trump and Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem that were placed on the ground.
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The multi-school march follows other student-led protests across Chicago since “Operation Midway Blitz.” During the operation, from September to November, DHS says it made over 3,000 arrests in Illinois, drawing resistance from local leaders, immigration activists and residents — including young Chicagoans.
Students at the rally said heightened immigration enforcement, family separation and the fear of ICE encounters mobilized them to participate in the walkout.
The protest was part of a national movement organized by the activist Group Dare to Struggle. Students in other parts of the country, including Texas, California and Philadelphia, also staged walkouts on Friday, Feb. 13.
Esteban, School of the Art Institute
“I’m half Mexican, so I have family from Mexico, and this is just really important to me because my family didn’t fight to be here for nothing, just to be brought back to their homeland. It’s something that’s affecting my general community because there are a lot of people here who are immigrants. Immigrants have created our communities. They’re the root of our communities, and now we’re being uprooted. We can’t just stand around and do nothing about it.”
Airam Martinez, Our Lady of Tepeyac High School
“I’m the daughter of two immigrants. Sorry if my voice is getting shaky, but one of my uncles was detained, so I feel like I need to speak out … I wanted to be able to at least speak out and at least make it clear that I do stand with my fellow immigrants and children of immigrants as well.”
Zoe Pitts, Columbia College Chicago
“I participated because I’m not happy with the world and how it is right now in our country. I want to stand up for something, especially for something like the place I live in…I’m not in a happy place, especially in this city where everyone should be accepted. Everyone should be free and not scared to be taken from their loved ones…You’re not too young. You’re not too old to stand up for what you think is right. You could come out and protest, no matter how old, no matter how young you are.”
Lia Sophia Lopez, Little Village Lawndale High School
“Many people I know are immigrants. My friends are immigrants, so to see them get hurt, it hurt me so deeply, so I was able to turn my emotions into actions, and that’s why I’m leading this today, because I want other people to realize they need to speak up, especially as young people…We are doing this for a reason…We shouldn’t be in the streets. We should be learning, but we’re doing this.”
Eleise, Benito Juarez Community Academy
“What brought me out here was that I’m a child. I’m a grandchild of Mexican and Guatemalan immigrants. This thing has been really taking over my mental health. It’s definitely messed up my grieving process. I did lose my grandma over the summer. It’s just been really irritating me because now I know that [this walkout] is what she would have wanted.”
Aydali Campa is a Report for America corps member and covers environmental justice and immigrant communities for Borderless Magazine. Email Aydali at [email protected].
Max Herman is Borderless Magazine’s Visuals Editor. Email Max at [email protected].
