Township and federal officials have cited that only a third of those being detained face criminal charges, and that many in the township are afraid as families are broken apart and loved ones face difficulties trying to communicate with those detained<\/a>.<\/p>\nRegarding Thursday\u2019s walkout, the Upper Darby School District released a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn recent days, we learned from students that they had concerns about their own safety and well-being,\u201d it read. \u201cWe also learned that they would like to peacefully and respectfully express their feelings about recent ICE activities.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur students are beautifully diverse, and their feelings and voices are important to us,\u201d it continued. \u201cThe 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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,\u201d the statement read. \u201cThis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Hundreds](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/DTD-L-WALKOUT-0206-07.jpg\")
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 \u2013 DAILY TIMES)<\/p>\n
Students shared their perspective on why they felt they needed to participate in the walkout.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like we should really stop deporting the innocent,\u201d Upper Darby senior Farhan Rifat said, expressing his concern for children being held in detention who have not been released.<\/p>\n
Another senior, Grushan Singh expanded upon that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really feel like ICE is using their privilege for brutality,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re not using it right.\u201d<\/p>\n
Singh said an environment of fear has become pervasive.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe a lot of our students and our friends are scared to step outside,\u201d he said, pointing to Rifat, he said. \u201cCitizens also get scared like him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was born here,\u201d Rifat said, \u201cbut they can always take that away from me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brian Panora, another Upper Darby High senior who is half Ecuadorian, said he\u2019s also afraid.<\/p>\n
\u201cMyself, I still got scared to be here and come to school now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The trio shared the message they wanted to send by engaging in the walkout.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want them to wake up and realize what they\u2019re doing,\u201d Singh said. \u201cWe\u2019re all human. We\u2019re all human.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Upper](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/DTD-L-WALKOUT-0206-08.jpg\")
Upper Darby High students, from left, Grushan Singh, Brian Panora and Farhan Rifat during the walkout. (KATHLEEN E. CAREY \u2013 DAILY TIMES)<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not monsters,\u201d Panora said. \u201cWe\u2019re not aliens. We\u2019re not like that. We\u2019re just people \u2026 (Immigrants) helped to build this place together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another student, Kristopher Harp, a junior, was walking to support his friends.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of my friends are immigrants,\u201d he said, \u201cand they don\u2019t want to be deported.\u201d<\/p>\n
The message Harp said he wanted to send was: \u201cFight for rights so they don\u2019t get taken away.\u201d<\/p>\n
Upper Darby senior Kamiah Braswell was passionate about the issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is very emotional for me,\u201d she said. \u201cICE is taking people out of their homes. They taking kids. They\u2019re taking children and it\u2019s so sad.\u201d<\/p>\n
She expressed discontent with the president.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s the reason ICE is here,\u201d Braswell said. \u201cI also want to say, \u2018ICE needs to go home.\u2019 Just because people weren\u2019t born here doesn\u2019t mean they can\u2019t come here.<\/p>\n
Fellow senior Sanai Reaves said Trump should have more understanding.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel as though Trump needs to stop because his wife is also an immigrant,\u201d she said. \u201cHe should give very much sympathy given that his wife is an immigrant as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Melania Trump became a naturalized citizen in 2006.<\/p>\n
![\"Township](\"https:\/\/www.delcotimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/DTD-L-WALKOUT-0206-06.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1\")
Township vehicles blocked the driveways to Upper Darby High School during the walkout. (KATHLEEN E. CAREY \u2013 DAILY TIMES)<\/p>\n
Reaves shared why she spent part of her day to come out into the cold to join the demonstration.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m protesting out here because I feel as though they have rights just as we do,\u201d she said of immigrants.<\/p>\n
Upper Darby Township council members David Bantoe and Kyle McIntyre were on-site with signs of support for the students.<\/p>\n
\u201cPublic safety is what we look at into this whole operation,\u201d Bantoe said of ICE in Upper Darby. \u201cIt is paramount. At the end of the day, we expect those who are enforcing the law to be safe as well as the community \u2026 Our major concern is public safety. We are not against immigration enforcement.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Upper](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1770327008_228_DTD-L-BANTOE-0128.jpg\")
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)<\/p>\n
Noting the long-standing presence of ICE in Upper Darby, the councilman said, \u201cWhat is different with this is the tactics that this Trump administration is using. That is concerning to every citizen of this country.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd, any law enforcement officer to have a clear message of what they are doing,\u201d Bantoe said. \u201cA face covering is confusing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The township councilman offered his thoughts on the student walkout.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is scary,\u201d Bantoe said. \u201cSo, for these kids, the school facility should be a safe place. But now, the children come to school, they are worried \u2026 I think the kids coming out to build awareness that this is disrupting our education. It\u2019s a ripple effect: businesses, education.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hundreds of Upper Darby High School students walked out of school Thursday at 12:30 p.m. to demonstrate their…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":106341,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[212,182,139,28,210,147,149,148,150],"class_list":["post-106340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-upper-darby","tag-delaware-county","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-top-stories-dtd","tag-upper-darby","tag-upper-darby-headlines","tag-upper-darby-news","tag-upper-darby-township"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106340\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Upper](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/DTD-L-WALKOUT-0206-03.jpg\")
Upper Darby High students Kamiah Braswell, left, and Sanai Reaves hold a homemade sign during the walkout against ICE. (KATHLEEN E. CAREY \u2013 DAILY TIMES)<\/p>\n