As immigration raids continue, hundreds of students from 12 high schools in Minneapolis walked out of school on January 20 to protest the sweeps. In December, it was announced that the Obama Administration would deport adults and children – many of which fled gang violence in Central America – who’d been ordered for removal by an immigration judge.
As a response, the students met at Martin Luther King Park, where they shared how they were affected after family members were deported, before marching down Nicollet Avenue, Lake Street, and other major streets. One school, Southwest High School, had a sit-in.
One organizer, Julio Martinez, said the walkout were their way to stand up for themselves and to participate in the conversation. “We protest because we want to stop deportations,” he said, according to Fight Back News. “We’re standing up for our rights, and we want other young people to speak up when something is wrong, to stand up for their rights.”
The students spread the word of the walkout through a Facebook event page, where they had a sign-up sheet for anyone who wanted to speak, and to spread what chants they would yell come January 20.
“We are doing this walkout to show solidarity with the families that are being ripped away from each other by ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement]. Obama, the deporter-in-chief, approved of having ICE agents deport people who crossed the border after May 2014,” said Samantha Compean Morales on the Facebook page. “Sadly, a huge percentage of people taken during the raids are women and children, that fled Central American countries. They came to the U.S. to escape from drugs, war and corruption happening in their home countries. They are seeking better job opportunities, a better future and a better education not only for themselves but also for their families.”
Between 2000 and 2010, there was a 74.5 percent increase in Minnesota’s Latino population, according to the Star-Tribune.
Check out images of the event below: