For months, people across the nation have taken to the streets to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a phenomenon that has not skipped over Tallahassee.
Now, a younger crowd is getting active.
On the chilly morning of Feb. 2, nearly 100 students at Lincoln High School marched off campus in protest of ICE.
“At Lincoln, we have many students with families that can be targeted by ICE and are at risk of wrongful profiling,” Mara Stopyak, student organizer of the protest told the Tallahassee Democrat. “Personally, seeing the hate from classmates and current events I refused to feel helpless and decided to take action.”
Stopyak said she gathered about 30 students to protest with her but more showed up in solidarity to stand with those at risk.
As students gathered in the school’s front courtyard, some sprinkled into the parking lot ready to grab a bite to eat off campus, others prepared to forgo lunch and opted to pull out handmade posters decrying ICE.
“The hate in the halls is loud, but we want to be louder. We hope to advocate for peace and equality,” Stopyak said. “We want to show Tallahassee that we do not stand with ICE.”
The high school protest comes as students across the state are exercising their First Amendment rights and speaking out against ICE actions that have shaken the nation.
For example, a protest at Atlantic High School in Port Orange was held by students as a sit-in and a walk-out. The school’s principal warned any disruptions on campus would be met with a disciplinary response.
Tensions surrounding ICE have stirred across the U.S., especially after an ICE agent fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good and another group of officers killed ICU nurse Alex Pretti. Both incidents happened in Minneapolis and have sparked nationwide outrage. Both cases remain under investigation.
Tallahassee has seen its share of protests against President Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement program.
Local protesters spoke out against the Tallahasssee Police Department’s 287(g) agreement with ICE during a recent city commission meeting. The capital has hosted several No Kings protests marked by anti-Trump and anti-ICE placards, chants and sentiments.
The Lincoln High protest occurred during the school’s lunch period so there was no disruption to class times by the students.
Leon County Schools spokesperson Chris Petley said students who participated did not violate any school policy since students are allowed to go off campus during lunch time.
Lincoln High’s principal, Allen Burch, did not comment about the protest to the Tallahassee Democrat. He asked news reporters to leave the parking lot, citing concerns over liability because of the media presence on campus.
Students carried posters with statements like “Love melts ICE” and “ICE is breaking the law.”
Some were passionate with their words, others shouted expletives at the top of their lungs about the agency and President Trump.
“I feel like this is reasonable because ICE has been doing bad stuff lately … they just assume you’re an immigrant off the way you look,” said Seth Walters, a freshman at the school.
Lily Davis held up a poster quoting Anne Frank, a Jewish teenager who chronicled her life under Nazi rule during World War II.
The poster reads: “Terrible things are happening outside. Poor helpless people are being dragged out of their homes. Families are torn apart. Men, women and children are separated. Children come home from school to find their parents have disappeared.”
Davis said she participated in the walkout with friends to make a stand for love and respect.
“I’m just trying to stand up for my morals I believe that all lives matter and everyone should be treated that way,” Davis said. “I just have so much love in my heart and I want that to be shown.”
Alaijah Brown covers children & families for the Tallahassee Democrat. She can be reached at ABrown1@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter/X: @AlaijahBrown3.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Lincoln High students walk out to protest ICE
Reporting by Alaijah Brown, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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