{"id":151199,"date":"2026-02-11T05:02:32","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T05:02:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/151199\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T05:02:32","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T05:02:32","slug":"wharton-high-students-walk-out-to-protest-ice-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/151199\/","title":{"rendered":"Wharton High students walk out to protest ICE [Photos]"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Briana Bebe, 24 of the Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society holds a sign that reads \u2018Melt ICE.\u2019 Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

Wharton High School students in Tampa walked out of school on Monday in solidarity with students nationwide protesting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).<\/p>\n

The action, which took place after school hours just outside Wharton\u2019s property, was led by Wildcat SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) with support from Tampa Immigrant Rights Committee, Party for Socialism and Liberation and Democratic Socialists of America.<\/p>\n

Florida schools are under pressure from state leaders to stop student protests. Lt. Governor Jay Collins (who is running to succeed Gov. Ron DeSantis) and Florida Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas criticized Hillsborough County School Board member Jessica Vaughn last week for saying students who protest quietly with parental permission shouldn\u2019t be disciplined. <\/p>\n

Days earlier, Kamoutsas warned<\/a> teachers and administrators across the state not to encourage or allow student protests during the school day.<\/p>\n

Wharton student Talia Moody told CL that she had a protest poster confiscated during lunch, despite being told students could have protest signs in the cafeteria.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe teacher took my poster away, but that\u2019s when they said we could do it. It was me and like three of my other friends, and that\u2019s why we are out here now instead,\u201d Moody told CL.<\/p>\n

Hillsborough County Public Schools spokesperson Debra Bellanti told CL she was unaware of protest signs being taken or any signs at Wharton. She sent the following statement: <\/p>\n

Hillsborough County Public Schools does not approve or promote protests during instructional time. While we want to ensure students retain constitutional rights for free expression, we also must make sure any such activity does not interrupt instructional time, school operations, or campus safety. Any violations are reviewed and addressed in accordance with our Student Code of Conduct. When appropriate, disciplinary actions are taken following established policies and procedures.<\/p>\n

Parents also showed up to support their Wharton students on Monday. Rose Glazner of Wesley Chapel said her children, both Wharton students, feel strongly about speaking out against ICE\u2019s tactics and policies.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so proud to be a parent of kids who care so much about other people and who care so much about what\u2019s going on in the world,\u201d Glazner told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. \u201cI could not be any prouder.\u201d<\/p>\n

Glazner said her family doesn\u2019t know anybody personally who has been detained, but added that they are \u201cterrified.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are real people,\u201d Glazner said. \u201cI\u2019m just horrified that this group is being targeted because you know immigrants are less than half as likely to commit a crime as someone who is a resident, and they contribute to our economy, our culture. I feel like we are more fulfilled as people to have all people.\u201d<\/p>\n

A 2024 study from the National Institute of Justice<\/a> found that undocumented immigrants are arrested at less than half the rate of native U.S. citizens for violent and drug crimes.<\/p>\n

\"\"Talia Moody, Wharton High School Student holds a sign in protest of ICE tactics in the United States and Florida. Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Rose Glazner, Wesley Chapel resident and parent of two Wharton High School Students, offers water and support to students protesting ICE activity in the U.S. Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

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\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

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\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

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\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

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\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

This article appears in Feb. 05 \u2013 11, 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Briana Bebe, 24 of the Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society holds a sign that reads \u2018Melt…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":151200,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[33193,1877,56564,135,24964,137,136,73040],"class_list":["post-151199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-hillsborough-county-public-schools","tag-ice","tag-ice-protests","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-bay-protests","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-wharton-high-school"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151199"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151199\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}