Hundreds of MSJ students walk out to protest ICE in joint movement across FUSD schools

By Staff Writers Luna Bichon, Amber Halvorsen, Saesha Prabhakar, & Aarav Vashisht

Introduction

Carrying political signs and posters, hundreds of MSJ students gathered around the front lawn of C-Wing and participated in a 40-minute walkout during Read on February 6. The protest was organized in response to concerns within the student body about recent escalations in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations, which have resulted in the deaths of 32 US citizens in 2025. Led by ASB President Senior Kalena Dai and coordinated by the organization Tri-City Against Ice, the demonstration represented a part of a series of anti-ICE walkouts held at various high schools across Fremont, Newark, and Union City on February 6.

With  Fremont’s population being home to a large diaspora of immigrants — 51.1% of Fremont citizens are immigrants — ICE’s immigration crackdowns have had a lasting effect on the community. Especially after ICE’s recent immigration crackdowns in Minneapolis, students at MSJ and residents of Fremont are concerned about how ICEs federal actions could harm them. For Junior ASB-elect Kaiwei Parks, the protest was a way to speak out against ICE’s federal actions. “It’s important for students to protest against ICE because if we don’t, who will? Even if our actions may not have a direct impact, an impact that we can see, it’s really the principle of the action. Considering [how] a lot of us come from immigrant families, it’s really important for us to speak out against this injustice that we’re seeing.” Parks said. “There’s a famous MLK Jr. quote: ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’”

Background 

 As part of President Trump’s pledge to conduct mass deportations in his second presidential term, ICE, an agency intended to enforce federal immigration laws, has recently conducted Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota. This operation was intended to apprehend and deport undocumented immigrants, but video footage shows how residents in Minnesota have been affected by ICE’s aggressive tactics. This shift from prioritizing specific operations — such as detaining illegal immigrants with a criminal record — to conducting large-scale deportations has been received with fear in immigrant communities, prompting anti-ICE protests nationwide. In particular, protests responded to the recent killings of Minnesota residents Renée Nicole Good and Alex Pretti — both of whom were US citizens and ICE protesters — and other victims who were affected by ICE’s operations. 

The February 6 walkout in the Tri-City Area was part of a broader nationwide movement of high school protests.  On January 30, students across the US walked out in  a nationwide protest against ICE with multiple demonstrations being organized in the following weeks. Students walked out of classrooms, small businesses closed, and people rallied on the streets in hopes of change. 

Prior to the walkouts on February 6, FUSD held protests in support of the January 30 national strike. MSJ was the only high school in FUSD absent during the protests, partly  due to scheduling complications with school administrators. Many students have expressed frustration about MSJ’s absence during the January 30 strikes. “I’ve seen a lot of other schools in the FUSD district having protests, and I know American has had two, and I was like, why isn’t Mission having one?” Sophomore Sreeja Madabhushi said. Students have a widely shared sentiment of being less involved with protests and politics due to MSJ’s strong focus on academics. “There’s this stereotype about MSJ [not being] politically active [and] meek when it comes to speaking up on very real socioeconomic and sociopolitical issues. I hope [MSJ] conveyed that although we may have failed on January 30 to speak up, we realize[d] that it was more important to right our wrongs and continue to organize [a protest] that had impact,” Senior Jasmine Li said. Despite this preconception, MSJ students stood together and participated in the February 6 walkout to show their support for the cause. “I’m glad to see that we’ve proved the rumors false, that MSJ [students] do really care about what’s happening right now in America, with ICE [and] the Trump administration.” Junior Alisha Arora said.

Protest Organization

The MSJ walkout was first publicized on February 4 by a post made by TriCityAgainstIce. The post received 501 likes, 62 comments and 706 shares as of February 17. “As student leaders,  it is our responsibility to inspire people to ask for change when change is needed. [Since] the Bay Area is concentrated in immigrants, [with] a lot of us having immigrant parents and neighbors … we chose [to protest] because it’s relevant,” Dai said, stressing the importance of community engagement and awareness. 

Before the protest, students participated in a poster designing event on February 5 which was promoted by an Instagram post made by Tri-City Against Ice. At the event, students created signs featuring slogans such as “Liberty and justice for all,” “ICE out,” and “No one is illegal on stolen land.” Dai worked alongside other student organizers  to ensure participants could take a stronger stance against federal action.

With an excused absence from the READ period approved by the administration and permitted by  California Senate Bill 955, MSJ students left their third period classrooms to participate in the walkout. California Senate Bill 955 is a state mandate that instructs schools to excuse students for one instructional day due to civic or political events, as long as the school was properly notified before the event. This policy helped ensure that students could take part in the walkout without academic penalty. 

The protest commenced with students delivering speeches against ICE enforcement. Junior Hanna Rahmanian started the speeches by reading out the names of those killed during ICE operations. As she solemnly listed out the names, a heavy silence fell over the participants in respect for the lives taken.  Subsequently, several advocates gave speeches outlining how ICE’s enforcement operations have impacted communities across the nation and emphasized why it is crucial for students to raise their voices against injustice. “The fact that schools across Fremont and students across Fremont are speaking about this matter … That’s an event that the whole city should know about, and if such protests [continue to be brought about] across the nation, that speaks to the country [thinking] that what’s happening now is wrong, and that we need to speak out for this matter,” MPPFA representative Sophomore Leina Ikeda said. 

Even when technical issues caused some speakers to be inaudible, the student speakers continued with their speeches with peers holding up a microphone and megaphone to ensure their voices were heard. 

Afterwards, Dai and Senior Padma Balaji directed students in a march through MSJ’s drop-off loop and towards the BTQ. Throughout the protest, students marched across campus and chanted slogans such as “No justice, no peace, no ICE in our streets,” and “No ICE, no KKK, no fascist USA.” Dai and Balaji led the chants, with crowds of students chanting behind them.  After marching around the Horseshoe through Palm Avenue, Dai and Balaji stood in front of a sea of students in the BTQ, leading them in chants before dismissing them to third period.  Because the walkout carried over a couple of minutes into third period, many students received an unexcused tardy, though these tardies were eventually excused following negotiations between organizers and school administration. Following the protest, the student-made posters were placed on the steps of the bell tower in the BTQ, where they remained on display for the rest of the day.

Conclusion

The walkout marks the first time in recent memory that MSJ students had organized a political protest. By attending the anti-ICE walkout, students sought to stand in solidarity with communities directly impacted by ICE’s deadly immigration enforcement operations. “Students are directly affected when classmates are afraid or distracted by fear at home. Protesting is a way to raise awareness and push leaders to consider the impact on young [people,]” participant Junior Lara Adbin said.