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Despite the bitter cold Friday afternoon, hundreds of Detroit students walked out of class to protest recent federal immigration actions.
Students poured out of Cass Technical High School before their last period of class began, chanting “immigrants are welcome here” and “no justice, no peace.” They marched around a loop in midtown with hand-painted signs to condemn the recent high-profile killings of two people by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis.
Some signs said: “There comes a time when silence is betrayal” and “U know it’s bad when white people are dying in the street” and “It shouldn’t have to happen to you for it to matter to you.”
“People are scared to leave their houses,” said Miguel-Angel Martinez, a Cass senior who lives in Southwest Detroit. “People are scared to go anywhere.”
The walkout at Cass Technical and others staged at schools around Metro Detroit were part of a “National Shutdown,” an organized day without work, shopping, or school.
“They took our alumni, they took our peers at Western [International High School],” said Hailee Hallman, a senior at Cass who helped organize the protest. “After seeing all this happen in so many places and watching it happen to people we know, it’s important for us to try to make sure they know that we’re not satisfied with this.”
Students feel the effect of immigration enforcement
At least five students in the Detroit Public Schools Community District have been detained by ICE in the months since federal immigration enforcement ramped up in the second Trump administration.
One student, Maykol Bogoya-Duarte, was deported to Colombia in June.
Three students seeking asylum in the U.S. – Santiago Jesus Zamora Perez, Kerly Mariangel Sosa Rivero, and Antony Janier Peña Sosa – were detained by ICE last month.
Mor Ba, another asylum seeker who graduated from Western days before he was detained, was released on bond from ICE custody last week.
Some of the teens at Friday’s protest have been directly affected by immigration enforcement in recent weeks.
Justin Perez, 16, said a member of his church was detained by ICE on his street. His uncle is awaiting deportation now.
“If I hear about any protests happening in the area, I always try to make my way,” he said.
Valerie Ortiz Sanchez, a junior who lives in southwest, said she wants to use her voice to speak out because others in her community are afraid to.
“I want to help my people, because what am I doing if I’m not?” she said. “I don’t want to hide under fear.”
Some fear traveling to school because of ICE
Education advocacy groups say immigration enforcement tactics are having a devastating affect on students and their access to education.
On Tuesday, multiple people reported to local officials that ICE arrested four people in Ypsilanti near a bus stop as parents dropped off their kids at school. ICE officials disputed the reports and said the agency is not targeting Michigan schools or bus stops.
The Michigan Senate on Thursday held a hearing for bills that would restrict immigration enforcement at “sensitive locations,” including schools.
Last year, the Trump administration revoked a longstanding federal directive for agents to not make immigration arrests near schools.
DPSCD Superintendent Nikolai Vitti has said ICE has not attempted to enter any district schools.
Many teachers, students, and community members have pushed the district for months to adopt a stronger sanctuary policy. Among their demands are better transportation options for families with immigration concerns, know-your-rights training, and mandatory instruction for all staff on interacting with immigration agents.
The district has not yet made any policy changes.
DPSCD authorized students to participate in the walkout, said Chrystal Wilson, spokesperson for the district, in an email.
“We believe in encouraging our students to exercise their First Amendment rights and strive to provide a safe environment for them to do so,” she said.
Hannah Dellinger covers Detroit schools for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at hdellinger@chalkbeat.org.
