On Tuesday, January 20, over 200 students from Southwest High School left their fifth hour classrooms and walked out to protest the presence of over 3,000 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents in Minnesota. Students specifically criticized their violent targeting of immigrant groups under the guise of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s mission to “expose and deliver accountability for the rampant fraud and criminality in Minnesota.” The protest was part of the “Free America” walkout publicized by the Women’s March organization, which asked Americans nationwide to participate at 2 p.m. local time. The actions of federal agents have gone far beyond the communicated objectives, and two people, Alex Jeffrey Pretti and Renee Nicole Good, have been killed at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis, as of January 25. They were both United States citizens. When the walkout took place, Pretti’s death had not yet occurred.
From the moment that federal agents arrived in Minneapolis in December for Operation Metro Surge, many Southwest students have posted sightings of suspected ICE and CBP agents and attended protests. But many desired a method of defiance more centralized to the school community after numerous other schools across the state and country had planned walkouts to protest ICE. As word spread that Southwest would be joining that movement, many students were eager to have their voices heard and show that youth input and involvement is crucial.
“I hope this walkout will empower students to know they are walking out for more than just a way to skip school. People need to understand that these kids are being directly impacted by the brutality in our city, and we need to do something, whether it be a walkout or attending a much larger protest. Student voices are strong and matter and should be taken seriously. We are angry too,” Leo J (‘28) said.
Information about the walkout was primarily spread by organizers through an Instagram account @southwest.against.trump. The account states that it is not affiliated with Southwest and describes itself as an “organization run by students against Trump, posting resources and information for those interested in the cause.” The account stated that two main demands are impeaching President Trump and getting ICE out of Minneapolis, but posted before the walkout that “essentially anything Trump has done that [students] don’t like is fair game as a potential protest sign.”
Anna R (‘27), who helped organize the walkout, said that “[the organizers] were just thinking about how scary it’s been in the community recently, and since this is more like a national walkout, we hoped that this would be a good way to contribute to that… and especially since we’re in Minneapolis, right where it’s happening, a lot of us have seen ICE. A lot of us live in the neighborhoods near where Renee Good was shot, people live so close to where that happened. So I think that it’s definitely part of our responsibility as Minneapolis students, especially because we have friends and peers who are directly targeted by this.”
The walkout consisted of a march from Southwest High School, through 50th and France, and to Wooddale Park in Edina. Many cars were caught up in the traffic disrupted by the sheer amount of walkout attendees, and their honks of support were deafening; the outrage many have at the infiltration of ICE into Minneapolis was clear. While some rolled down their windows to contrarily show their support for ICE agents, this only resulted in the students chanting louder and holding their signs up higher.
When the procession of protesters reached Wooddale Park, they stood on the side of the road in freezing temperatures with signs and yelled chants such as “ICE out” and “no justice, no peace, no ICE in our streets.” Southwest sophomore Harley K’s Adventure Time inspired sign appeared on the first slide of a post by the Women’s March Instagram account about the walkout, which sits at 34,000 likes as of January 25. The post, which features pictures taken by Washington DC-based photojournalist Shedrick Pelt (@sdotpdotmedia), also shows student-made signs with slogans such as “the wrong ice is melting” and “hot people melt ice.”
All participants of the walkout and protest that The Navigator spoke to had optimistic hopes for the outcome. Isaiah L (‘26), said he hopes that “Congress, or anybody, will see that people care about what’s going on in this country right now.”
Addy B (‘28) said, “I hope that it will show not only Minnesotans, but all of America, that youth really do care about this issue and that we understand what the government is doing, and we can’t be fooled by propaganda and the nonchalance of the internet. We understand that it’s a genuine issue and that change needs to happen.”
Others, like Ezra S (‘27) and Jackson V (‘26) simply said that they want “ICE out of Minnesota.”
The effort does not stop at the end of the walkout. Eli A (‘28) said, “There are bigger things you can do in your community to protest against ICE other than just school walkouts,” and suggested that students “try to get into contact with families who aren’t able to leave their house and drive, and try their best to provide them with groceries, help with childcare, help with stuff like that. If you are able to support the people who are actually affected, you are doing more than just walking out of your school.”
“Keep protesting. This isn’t just over in one day. It’s continuous,” Olivia S (‘28) said.
