Hundreds of Upper Darby High School students walked out of school Thursday at 12:30 p.m. to demonstrate their displeasure with United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement and to send a message to the agency to get out of the community.
Some were angry. Some were passionate. Some were demonstrating for friends in the diverse community. They said they were even scared to go to school anymore.
Chants of “No more ICE! No more ICE!” were frequent as floods of students emerged from the high school building and streamed into the parking lot.
Some also brought handmade signs with a variety of sayings such as “F- ICE!”, “The Wrong ICE is melting,” and “Too Much ICE.”
A heavy police presence was evident with SUV’s blockading Lansdowne Avenue for about a half-hour and a motorcycle brigade on-site. Township machinery barricaded the egresses to the township the duration of the event.
Upper Darby High students Kamiah Braswell, left, and Sanai Reaves hold a homemade sign during the walkout against ICE. (KATHLEEN E. CAREY – DAILY TIMES)
Before they walked out about two hours before regular dismissal, the high school students had an in-school forum to discuss their intent for the protest and the meaning they wanted to convey.
While ICE has operated in Upper Darby, where almost a quarter of the estimated 86,000 residents are foreign-born, township officials have noticed a change in procedures and a ramping up of efforts.
Regarding Thursday’s walkout, the Upper Darby School District released a statement.
“In recent days, we learned from students that they had concerns about their own safety and well-being,” it read. “We also learned that they would like to peacefully and respectfully express their feelings about recent ICE activities.
“Our students are beautifully diverse, and their feelings and voices are important to us,” it continued. “The students who shared their feelings wanted to show their support for their local community. This is an emotional time, and we take seriously our responsibility to support students while maintaining a safe, respectful, and inclusive learning environment.
“We worked directly with students to ensure their voices were heard in a safe and constructive way, including establishing a student forum for students to address their peers prior to the walkout,” the statement read. “This allowed for student voice, civic engagement, and expression while prioritizing safety and respect. As a District, we remain committed to providing a welcoming and supportive environment for all. While differing views may exist, our priority is ensuring every student and staff member feels safe, respected, and supported, and that student expression occurs in meaningful and appropriate ways.”
Hundreds of students walked out of Upper Darby High School Thursday to protest the heightened presence of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the township. (KATHLEEN E. CAREY – DAILY TIMES)
Students shared their perspective on why they felt they needed to participate in the walkout.
“I feel like we should really stop deporting the innocent,” Upper Darby senior Farhan Rifat said, expressing his concern for children being held in detention who have not been released.
Another senior, Grushan Singh expanded upon that.
“I really feel like ICE is using their privilege for brutality,” he said. “They’re not using it right.”
Singh said an environment of fear has become pervasive.
“I believe a lot of our students and our friends are scared to step outside,” he said, pointing to Rifat, he said. “Citizens also get scared like him.”
“I was born here,” Rifat said, “but they can always take that away from me.”
Brian Panora, another Upper Darby High senior who is half Ecuadorian, said he’s also afraid.
“Myself, I still got scared to be here and come to school now,” he said.
The trio shared the message they wanted to send by engaging in the walkout.
“I want them to wake up and realize what they’re doing,” Singh said. “We’re all human. We’re all human.”
Upper Darby High students, from left, Grushan Singh, Brian Panora and Farhan Rifat during the walkout. (KATHLEEN E. CAREY – DAILY TIMES)
“We’re not monsters,” Panora said. “We’re not aliens. We’re not like that. We’re just people … (Immigrants) helped to build this place together.”
Another student, Kristopher Harp, a junior, was walking to support his friends.
“Some of my friends are immigrants,” he said, “and they don’t want to be deported.”
The message Harp said he wanted to send was: “Fight for rights so they don’t get taken away.”
Upper Darby senior Kamiah Braswell was passionate about the issue.
“This is very emotional for me,” she said. “ICE is taking people out of their homes. They taking kids. They’re taking children and it’s so sad.”
She expressed discontent with the president.
“He’s the reason ICE is here,” Braswell said. “I also want to say, ‘ICE needs to go home.’ Just because people weren’t born here doesn’t mean they can’t come here.
Fellow senior Sanai Reaves said Trump should have more understanding.
“I feel as though Trump needs to stop because his wife is also an immigrant,” she said. “He should give very much sympathy given that his wife is an immigrant as well.”
Melania Trump became a naturalized citizen in 2006.
Township vehicles blocked the driveways to Upper Darby High School during the walkout. (KATHLEEN E. CAREY – DAILY TIMES)
Reaves shared why she spent part of her day to come out into the cold to join the demonstration.
“I’m protesting out here because I feel as though they have rights just as we do,” she said of immigrants.
Upper Darby Township council members David Bantoe and Kyle McIntyre were on-site with signs of support for the students.
“Public safety is what we look at into this whole operation,” Bantoe said of ICE in Upper Darby. “It is paramount. At the end of the day, we expect those who are enforcing the law to be safe as well as the community … Our major concern is public safety. We are not against immigration enforcement.”
Upper Darby Council Member David Bantoe was at the walkout. He said, “We are not against immigration enforcement.” But, he added a “face covering is confusing.” (COURTESY PHOTO)
Noting the long-standing presence of ICE in Upper Darby, the councilman said, “What is different with this is the tactics that this Trump administration is using. That is concerning to every citizen of this country.”
He said he wants to see law enforcement being done in a professional manner so that confusion does not become a matter of public safety.
“And, any law enforcement officer to have a clear message of what they are doing,” Bantoe said. “A face covering is confusing.”
The township councilman offered his thoughts on the student walkout.
“This is scary,” Bantoe said. “So, for these kids, the school facility should be a safe place. But now, the children come to school, they are worried … I think the kids coming out to build awareness that this is disrupting our education. It’s a ripple effect: businesses, education.”