TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Dozens of Leon High School students left school, marching up Tennessee Street to protest ICE.
Around 60 students walked up Tennessee Street to North Monroe, holding signs and chanting in protest.
“I want to have my voice be heard and have it mean something. I want this to actually have an impact on an immigrant’s life, or everyone’s life,” Eli, an LHS student said.
Earlier this month, Leon County Schools sent an email to parents and students outlining the district’s policies regarding student protests.
The email acknowledged students’ right to free speech, but said that “actions that disrupt the instructional day, interfere with school operations, or compromise campus safety are not permitted and will be addressed in accordance with the Leon County Schools Code of Student Conduct and School Board policy.”
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Students participating in Friday’s protest said they were not afraid of discipline because this “was the right thing to do.”
“But at the end of the day, I’d rather fight for this than just get a referral. The referral doesn’t mater, it just doesn’t matter,” Chris, a 12th grader at LHS said.
“At this point, it’s not about politics, it’s about humanity,” Trinity, a tenth-grader, said. “And I firmly believe that no piece of paper will ever convince me that someone is illegal or legal.”
One student said both she and her father had been profiled and that’s why she took to the corner of Monroe and Tennessee Streets on Friday.
“I’m of Mexican descent and I watch my dad fear to leave his house every day because he did not know he was going to get racial profiled at his own work,” Malaly Gonzalez, a ninth-grader, said.
Many cars passing by honked in support of the students.
Police and sheriff’s deputies were on hand at the demonstration, but the protest remained peaceful.
Chiles High School and Lincoln High School students have also staged protests, amid nationwide student protests.
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