SCUSD students plan walkouts Friday to protest immigration operations, policies

Sacramento high school students plan to walk out of class Friday morning to protest immigration and customs enforcement activity around the country and recent fatal shootings by ICE agents in Minnesota.”We want to show our solidarity for people in Minneapolis, but also we want to show solidarity for the students in our school who are afraid,” said Louis Russell, a junior at McClatchy High School.At McClatchy, students plan to walk out after second period before traveling together downtown to the Capitol and John Moss Federal Building. An event permit filed with California Highway Patrol for Friday states the event “ICE Out Now – SCUSD Walkout” will begin at 11:30 a.m. on the west steps of the capitol grounds. Seven hundred participants are expected, according to the permit.Student organizer Michael Heffron said after posting information about the demonstration to social media, students at other district schools reached out to say they too were planning walkouts.“I hope (community members) see that it’s students that are leading this,” he said. “Students came up with this idea. Students communicated with other students across Sacramento to bring this together. We want to show that the students stand in solidarity with the people in Minnesota that have been killed, that have been injured. We stand against ICE.”The Sacramento City Unified Board of Education sent a letter to district families on Thursday afternoon, acknowledging the walkouts and demonstrations planned. “We want our students to know they are heard on this and other issues of importance to them,” the letter from Tara Jeane, Board of Education president, reads in part. “We want to be clear that Sacramento City Unified does not organize or endorse student protests; we do respect the rights of students to participate and freely express themselves in a manner that is both civil and safe.”Student organizers stressed safety is a top priority.“We’ve been very serious throughout about making sure students know to be safe, not to provoke officers,” he said. “We’re going to have our student leaders in white bandanas and vests on the day of. They’re going to be helping to direct traffic and make sure that everybody knows where to go and how to act.”For Rosa Maria Orozco, a junior at McClatchy and another one of the organizers of the walkout, said she’s proud of her classmates for stepping up and making their voices heard.”Our school is made up of actually majority Latinos. And as a Latino myself, it’s really important that the people who are being affected by this, my people, are getting the representation they need,” she said.Spokespeople for the Sacramento Police Department and Sacramento Regional Transit both said its teams were aware of the demonstrations planned and would be monitoring the situation.”I thought it would be a really small thing, but it’s grown in such an incredible and inspiring way,” said Russell Thursday. “It’s renewed my faith that by protesting, by standing up, we can do something to change what’s happening in our country.”The letter from the Board of Education president to district families noted that students will be marked absent if they are not in class, and parents will need to contact the school regarding that absence.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

Sacramento high school students plan to walk out of class Friday morning to protest immigration and customs enforcement activity around the country and recent fatal shootings by ICE agents in Minnesota.

“We want to show our solidarity for people in Minneapolis, but also we want to show solidarity for the students in our school who are afraid,” said Louis Russell, a junior at McClatchy High School.

At McClatchy, students plan to walk out after second period before traveling together downtown to the Capitol and John Moss Federal Building.

An event permit filed with California Highway Patrol for Friday states the event “ICE Out Now – SCUSD Walkout” will begin at 11:30 a.m. on the west steps of the capitol grounds. Seven hundred participants are expected, according to the permit.

Student organizer Michael Heffron said after posting information about the demonstration to social media, students at other district schools reached out to say they too were planning walkouts.

“I hope (community members) see that it’s students that are leading this,” he said. “Students came up with this idea. Students communicated with other students across Sacramento to bring this together. We want to show that the students stand in solidarity with the people in Minnesota that have been killed, that have been injured. We stand against ICE.”

The Sacramento City Unified Board of Education sent a letter to district families on Thursday afternoon, acknowledging the walkouts and demonstrations planned.

“We want our students to know they are heard on this and other issues of importance to them,” the letter from Tara Jeane, Board of Education president, reads in part. “We want to be clear that Sacramento City Unified does not organize or endorse student protests; we do respect the rights of students to participate and freely express themselves in a manner that is both civil and safe.”

Student organizers stressed safety is a top priority.

“We’ve been very serious throughout about making sure students know to be safe, not to provoke officers,” he said. “We’re going to have our student leaders in white bandanas and vests on the day of. They’re going to be helping to direct traffic and make sure that everybody knows where to go and how to act.”

For Rosa Maria Orozco, a junior at McClatchy and another one of the organizers of the walkout, said she’s proud of her classmates for stepping up and making their voices heard.

“Our school is made up of actually majority Latinos. And as a Latino myself, it’s really important that the people who are being affected by this, my people, are getting the representation they need,” she said.

Spokespeople for the Sacramento Police Department and Sacramento Regional Transit both said its teams were aware of the demonstrations planned and would be monitoring the situation.

“I thought it would be a really small thing, but it’s grown in such an incredible and inspiring way,” said Russell Thursday. “It’s renewed my faith that by protesting, by standing up, we can do something to change what’s happening in our country.”

The letter from the Board of Education president to district families noted that students will be marked absent if they are not in class, and parents will need to contact the school regarding that absence.

See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel