Today, high school students across the Bay Area left their classrooms and took to the streets, grasping “Melt ICE” posters, “We prefer crushed ICE” signs and Mexican flags.
These student walkouts were part of the broader Jan. 30 “National Shutdown,” publicized by nationalshutdown.org and endorsed by hundreds of advocacy groups across the United States. The website nationalshutdown.org — which included recommendations to abstain from shopping, school and work — was created in response to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s alleged recent killings of two Minnesotan protesters, Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
Here is a breakdown of protests at Los Altos High School, Mountain View High School, Gunn High School and Palo Alto High School, including students’ reactions and photos.
Los Altos High School
Ten minutes before second period ended, hundreds of Los Altos High students marched out of their classrooms, gathering in the quad with signs including slogans like “LAHS walk out ICE OUT” and “I prefer my horchata WARM.” Organizers Lara Tait, Tilly Burgart and Valerie Zhou led the crowd down Almond Avenue and onto San Antonio, shouting chants such as “Say it loud, say it clear: Immigrants are welcome here.”
Protesters arrived at the town square in downtown Los Altos and remained there for more than an hour. There, students — including the organizers — read poetry, sang and spoke about the protest.
The group of students then returned to San Antonio, where they spread out and continued to chant while honking cars passed by. Some students eventually returned to campus, with the intention of arriving ten minutes after fourth period began.
Junior Frankie Bengston chose to participate in order to “fight against the Trump administration and all of the violence that ICE brought to our country.”
“We’ve seen people our age being heavily affected by this, and it’s very important that everyone can do their part,” Bengston said. “Especially as students, I think we have a right and a responsibility to help our peers.”
Others, like sophomore Leilani Montano, decided to walk out because of their cultural ties to communities impacted by ICE.
“My people have been very recently affected by these [ICE] raids, and it’s important for me to be able to speak up in the position that I am [in],” Montano said. “I have the privilege to be able to speak out, and I should use my voice.”
Burgart estimated a final turnout of 200 to 300 participants, noting that they had only expected 70 students to attend.
Mountain View High School
At noon, many Mountain View High students exited their fourth period classes and walked to the main quad, where a long caravan trekked roughly four miles from campus to City Hall in downtown Mountain View. At the intersection between El Camino Real and Castro Street, the protestors met up with other students from Saint Francis High School.
As students marched through the streets of Mountain View, many adults showed their support by honking their car horns as they passed. Drivers along Grant Road and El Camino Real rolled down their windows to cheer and give thumbs-up, with several cars following the protest and honking continuously. Students also carried handmade signs reading “no one is illegal on stolen land,” “no freedom with ICE,” and “we stand with immigrants.”
Senior Javi Teeter Rangel said the protest was special to him as a Latino student.
“ICE is a serious thing, and, across our nation, a lot of people are getting deported,” Teeter Rangel said. “You never know who’s next. We [should] all stand up and fight back against ICE.”
Another senior, Dhruv Vijay, said the peaceful nature of the walkout was important since it represented persistent humanity and empathy.
“A lot of the time, the media is trying to convince us that what ICE is doing is normal, and displays like this really show that everyone has an ethical compass, that they can follow and recognize when things are not right,” Vijay said.
Gunn High School
“How many more will die?” was one of the dozens of signs in the hands of Gunn High’s walkout participants.
The Titans’ walkout began at approximately 12:50 p.m., an anonymous participant said. Around 300 students left the school and walked along Arastradero Road
Senior Alex Efremova said she elected to walk out because she believes herself — and others in Palo Alto — to be privileged.
“Even in our communities, but especially in lower income communities across the country, ICE is rampant and people are getting murdered, kidnapped and separated from their families,” Efremova said. “The least we can do is give up some of our comfort and some of our grades … over this, and we should go and we should protest and we should make our point heard because we have the resources to do so.”
Efremova also labeled the current actions of ICE in the country a “genocide.” As such, she said she hopes to see the U.S. Congress acting on the nationwide protests.
“I want to see our representatives voting against funding ICE, and I want people to be more aware of the blatant murders and genocide that is happening in this country,” Efremova said.
Sophomore organizer Kai Knuston agreed being in an affluent community makes speaking out about ICE all the more important.
“ICE is affecting our whole community, and we really need to speak out about it and [realize] that this isn’t normal,” Knutson said. “Otherwise, you don’t know what else is going to happen and it’s important to raise awareness of the subject and speak out against what’s going on.”
Palo Alto High School
At noon, 20 minutes before the conclusion of sixth period, hundreds of Palo Alto High students met in front of the Performing Arts Center to embark on a journey down El Camino Real. Handmade signs — “HATE DOESN’T MAKE AMERICA GREAT” — to Mexican flags were hoisted in the air by the crowd of protestors.
According to witnesses, some participants made their way to Cambridge Avenue, while others remained just outside of Palo Alto High’s campus by Town and Country Village.
Senior Elise Andrade, boasting a “MIGRATION IS BEAUTIFUL” sign, said she decided to protest to be part of the collective movement aiming to combat the violence of ICE and authoritarianism of the government.
“America is built on the backs of immigrants, and [ICE] is targeting the most vulnerable, separating families and killing people,” Andrade said. “The least I can do is participate in this [walkout].”
Students from Castilleja School joined Palo Alto High’s march, according to sophomore participant Mateo Rosas.
“It was very inspiring to see that other schools had the same interests and ideology as Paly students,” Rosas said. “It was also mind-blowing how many students there were … compared to what I thought it would be, which was a lot fewer.”
