With helicopters overhead and hundreds of their classmates surrounding them, Sam Houston Math, Science, and Technology Center seniors Alisay Castorena and Kendra Ramirez cried as they hugged Thursday morning.
The majority of the Houston ISD school’s approximately 2,700 students walked out at the start of the second period to protest the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
The walkout, which featured flags from dozens of countries and signs protesting the removal of some US Immigration and Customs Enforcement restrictions, was organized to serve as a model for similar protests in Houston and around the country, according to Ramirez.
“We wanted to make it clear that we don’t want ICE in our schools, because a lot of these students … can’t speak out, so we want to do that for them,” Ramirez told CNN. “I feel like it’s a bigger impact, since it’s younger people doing it.”
In a school with over 90% Hispanic students and nearly 40% emerging bilinguals, almost every student has friends or family who are immigrants or are in the country illegally, according to Ramirez.
Since Trump’s call for mass deportations and ICE’s restrictions on deportations in “safe zones,” such as churches and schools, were lifted, many students and families have been afraid to attend school, according to Ramirez.
ICE has stated that no immigration enforcement operations have taken place at schools or bus stops since its restrictions on operating in “sensitive areas,” such as churches and schools, were lifted on January 21.
According to Politico, the number of daily ICE arrests remains consistent with certain periods during President Barack Obama’s administration.
However, Ramirez stated that many students and families have been afraid to attend school or participate in extracurricular activities as a result of the White House and other government organizations’ widely publicized reports of mass deportation.
Some school districts, such as Texas’ Alice ISD, have warned students that they may be asked about their citizenship status while on field trips, while others have stated that they will not cooperate with ICE agents on campus without warrants.
Houston ISD’s state-appointed superintendent, Mike Miles, stated that student information, including immigration status, is still protected. HISD will not allow students’ records to be accessed unless those requirements are met and approved by the district’s legal services department, Miles stated.
“HISD has always, and will continue to, support and educate every student who walks through our doors,” an HISD spokesperson said Monday. “While our commitment to students remains unchanged, we recognize that this is an uncertain time for many in the Houston community.
We will do everything we can to ensure our students’ stability and continuity of care while they are in our schools, and school is the safest place for them to be during the school week.”
Ramirez said she saw more unity at the normally divided high school on Thursday, when students flooded the front office and the surrounding streets.
“There’s more bravery than fear,” Castorena said. “We are very brave, and we understand what we are doing. “We are standing up for ourselves.”
While many protestors may be directly impacted by immigration crackdowns, others came out to support their classmates. Students lifted each other to wave flags and chant with signs reading “No borders, no hate, just people” in honor of immigrant parents’ sacrifices.
“I care deeply about my immigrant friends. “They were with us during the Black Lives Matter movement, and we should be with them,” junior J’mya Crawford stated. “We’re all human.”
Since Monday, Houston ISD has seen several protests aimed at both the nation’s immigration crackdown and state-appointed HISD leadership.
Ramirez and many of her classmates skipped school on Monday as part of a nationwide “Day Without Immigrants” movement, and on Wednesday, advocacy group Community Voices for Public Education held a “sickout” to protest HISD’s state intervention and “weak” response to increased immigration enforcement.
According to a statement signed by HISD Chief of Public Affairs and Communications Alexandra Elizondo, the protest was “entirely irresponsible” and “cynically exploit(ed) people’s legitimate concerns about federal immigration policy to push their own political agenda about state intervention.”
Ramirez said she hopes the protests will inspire more students and activist groups to oppose increased immigration enforcement.
“It was kind of a ‘We made it,’ moment,” Ramirez said. “I just want people to know and not be scared. That their voices will be heard somehow. If we go down, it will not be without a fight, and people should not be afraid to exercise their First Amendment right to free speech.”
