Ruth Kravetz, co-founder of Houston Community Voices for Public Education, said the walkout at Wisdom High was a big deal and students could be putting themselves at risk of suspension, which isn\u2019t happening at affluent and predominantly white campuses. \u201cIt\u2019s a completely heartfelt concern for their family members who are being persecuted,\u201d Kravetz said. \u201cNothing about it is performative.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Also last week, Houston ISD students and some of their parents held a \u201csickout<\/a>\u201d in which they boycotted school or work in protest of the district\u2019s state takeover and Trump\u2019s immigration tactics. The week prior, students at Cypress Falls High School <\/a>walked out of classes and began marching in protest of ICE.\u00a0<\/p>\n The punishment of students who skip class to protest federal immigration policies appears to vary by school. A \u201cKnow Your Rights\u201d flyer<\/a> circulated among members of Community Voices for Public Education, citing the American Civil Liberties Union as its source, claims that students \u201ccannot be disciplined for missing class to protest more harshly than discipline for non-political activities like going off campus for lunch.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Earlier this month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called for<\/a> defunding public school districts and teacher investigations for allowing students to protest.<\/p>\n Adriana Pi\u00f1on, legal director at the ACLU of Texas, said government officials cannot punish students simply because they dislike their message.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cStudents do not lose their free speech rights when they enter their schools, and while the Constitution may permit discipline in some cases, it certainly does not require it,\u201d she said. \u201cOur state has a long and distinguished history of student-led protests and social movements. What the state is threatening, including school takeovers, goes beyond routine punishment.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cInstead of targeting young Texans, we urge state leadership to focus on the message that students are sending: ICE\u2019s actions are unacceptable, and immigrants belong in Texas,\u201d she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n Several students and elected officials expressed their concerns at a February 12 Houston ISD board meeting, referencing reports that about 4,000 immigrant students have withdrawn from enrollment due to fear of being deported.\u00a0<\/p>\n Student Aubrie Barr said she helped organize last week\u2019s sickout with the primary focus of opposing the district\u2019s state takeover of HISD and told the school board she\u2019d do it again.\u201cStudents do not protest when they feel heard,\u201d she said. \u201cStudents do not walk out when they feel respected. If students speaking up feels threatening, then maybe the problem isn\u2019t the students; it\u2019s the leadership.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Micah Gabay, another HISD student opposed to the state takeover, questioned at last week\u2019s board meeting why peaceful protests have been classified as \u201cLevel 3\u201d offenses, a classification that implies serious misconduct and unsafe actions.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNow, when students try to express their beliefs respectfully and nonviolently, they face harsh discipline,\u201d she said. \u201cThat sends the wrong message. It tells students that silence is safer than standing up for what\u2019s right.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Over the past few months, reports have come out almost weekly of Houston youth being detained by ICE, a break in protocol from what was advertised a year ago as a crackdown on undocumented violent criminals. Children also suffer when a parent is detained or deported because it creates fear and exacerbates the financial insecurity in a household, said Cesar Espinosa, executive director of FIEL.<\/p>\n Just because masked ICE agents aren\u2019t posted along Houston\u2019s downtown intersections doesn\u2019t mean they don\u2019t continue to have a strong presence in the community, Espinosa said.\u00a0<\/p>\n People are getting detained at ICE check-ins, at their workplaces and at the Harris County Jail, he said. Those who go to the downtown Joint Processing Center \u2014 where minor traffic infractions are handled \u2014 and do not have proof of citizenship are likely to get slapped with an ICE detainer, Espinosa said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe have not seen a sharp increase of ICE operations out in the street, although we have seen some,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not like in Chicago or LA where there are blockades. We get notices every single morning from different parts of the county saying ICE is here.\u201d<\/p>\n In those instances, FIEL sends a volunteer with its Rapid Response Team to confirm whether federal agents are in a particular area. \u201cIt\u2019s a fine line between letting people know and throwing our community into a panic,\u201d Espinosa said. \u201cWe try not to post every single thing that comes to us because that\u2019s all we would be doing.\u201d<\/p>\n Espinosa says Latino neighborhoods in southwest Houston and Alief see ICE agents frequently, \u201cbut we\u2019ve also seen an uptick in ICE operations in The Heights and River Oaks, mostly targeting gardeners and workers because they\u2019re low-hanging fruit. They\u2019re going to go to work and ICE just waits around until they show up.\u201d<\/p>\n While there have been rampant rumors about ICE showing up at area high schools, Espinosa said those claims have not been confirmed. However, he said some students have reported that they\u2019ve been told by adults at school that if they walk out in protest, the administration will \u201ccall ICE on them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Minors in Detention<\/p>\n About 3,800 minors under the age of 18 were held in ICE family detention centers across the country between January and October 2025, according to The Marshall Project<\/a>. Hundreds were reported in Texas facilities, described as modern-day concentration camps, including the South Texas Residential Family Center<\/a> in Dilley near San Antonio.\u00a0<\/p>\n The food is terrible and minors are not getting an education while they\u2019re being detained, Kravetz said. Federal law says education \u201cshould\u201d be provided at family detention centers but reports from the inside suggest youth are given worksheets and may do lessons for one hour a day that are not necessarily at their grade level.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Marshall Project reported that the number of children in ICE detention has increased by six times since Trump took office.\u00a0<\/p>\n Espinosa said earlier this month he had to tell a group of young people that their classmate, a young woman named Estefany, was deported to Honduras. \u201cIt was heartbreaking,\u201d he said. \u201cIn these quiet aftermath moments, I am reminded of why I exist and why we will resist.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n According to Espinosa, the child\u2019s father went to an ICE check-in appointment and an officer asked the man where his daughter was. The father said his child was at school at YES Prep Brays Oaks Secondary. The officer allegedly told the man to bring his daughter to his next appointment. When he did as he was told, the father and daughter were separated and detained, Espinosa said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cShe missed school to go to this ICE check-in with her dad,\u201d Espinosa said. \u201cIt\u2019s a double-edged sword because if you don\u2019t go to the check-in, you\u2019ll get ordered deported, and if you go to the check-in, there\u2019s a very high likelihood that you\u2019ll still end up deported.\u201d<\/p>\n The teenager was detained on January 30 and deported to Honduras on February 4. \u201cShe didn\u2019t have a chance to talk to a judge,\u201d Espinosa said. \u201cRight now we\u2019re trying to see if any of her rights were violated and if we have any grounds to reverse that deportation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Estefany\u2019s best friend Ingrid attended Saturday\u2019s rally and called for justice for the young people who have been taken into custody. \u201cEstefany wanted to be in the medical field but unfortunately, she can\u2019t continue her dream because she got deported,\u201d Ingrid said. \u201cI feel very sad that she got deported. She was like my sister.\u201d <\/p>\n Students at Sam Houston Math, Science and Technology Center recently protested the detainment of senior soccer captain Mauro Yosueth Henriquez. The teen and his father were taken in December to the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe, and advocates said Mauro was separated from his father and moved to another facility on February 12.\u00a0<\/p>\n An HISD student named Molly told the school board last week that her peers walked out of classes to support Mauro and because they\u2019re \u201cafraid of coming home from school and not seeing their parents there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re afraid of seeing their friends being taken by ICE. To quote one of the students who walked out, \u2018We just want to be free and live in a free country.\u2019 Instead of supporting these students, school administrations threatened disciplinary action in retribution for protesting out of fear of Greg Abbott\u2019s threats of funding cuts,\u201d she said. \u201cAs these students fought for their freedom, [HISD Superintendent Mike] Miles and the Board of Managers has done nothing to protect the students that they\u2019re meant to serve.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Still in Danger of Being Deported<\/p>\n When Emmanuel Gonz\u00e1lez Garcia stopped showing up at Las Americas Newcomer School, his peers didn\u2019t know what happened to him. His mother didn\u2019t know either.\u00a0<\/p>\n Turns out Emmanuel was held by federal authorities for 48 days. The situation left many questioning why a 15-year-old\u00a0 was detained for so long and separated from his mother when he hadn\u2019t done anything wrong.\u00a0<\/p>\n Conflicting accounts have been given about how Emmanuel ended up in federal custody last October. The boy\u2019s mother, Maria Garcia<\/a>, and Espinosa told the Houston City Council that the boy has autism and was approached by Houston police after he wandered away from his mother while they were selling fruit at an intersection.\u00a0<\/p>\n Espinosa maintains that minimal effort was made to reunite Emmanuel with his mother before officers handed the child over to federal authorities. He was detained at the Office of Refugee Resettlement, a branch of the federal health department that offers services for \u201cunaccompanied alien children,\u201d according to its website.\u00a0<\/p>\n Houston Police Chief Noe Diaz said during an October council meeting that Emmanuel\u2019s mother contacted police five hours after the child went missing. When authorities located Emmanuel, Diaz said he claimed to be homeless and from another country. Diaz said police contacted the federal facility only after a Child Protective Services representative allegedly said it couldn\u2019t hold the child if he was from another country and could not provide contact information for any family members.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mayor John Whitmire said at the time that police spent hours trying to reunite the child with his family but Emmanuel had no identification and could not provide the names of any family members.\u00a0<\/p>\n Espinosa was removed from the council meeting for causing a disruption when he referred to the mayor and police chief as liars.\u00a0<\/p>\n Emmanuel was released from the detention center in November, and Houston City Councilman Edward Pollard announced last week that the teen is now enrolled at Wisdom High School, which \u201cprovides an inclusive environment\u201d and is better suited for Emmanuel\u2019s learning needs. The child and his mother have also moved into a new apartment in Gulfton, where they say they feel supported and are hopeful for the future, Pollard said in a press release.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, Espinosa pointed out that until Emmanuel and his mother become permanent legal residents, they are in danger of being detained or deported. \u201cThey\u2019re safer than they were months ago but we\u2019re going through a lot of legalities with them in immigration court and there\u2019s still a possibility they could be detained or deported,\u201d he said. \u201cIf they get called in for a check-in, that will heighten our sense of fear for them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Many have asked, \u201cWhy don\u2019t the undocumented just take a citizenship class and get their papers?\u201d Espinosa laughs when asked that question. For starters, some don\u2019t feel comfortable showing up at a public library for a citizenship class. Additionally, the process can take decades and cost up to $50,000 per family member, he said, noting that it\u2019s easier for those who are married to a U.S. citizen or have American-born children.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sometimes an applicant who is in the United States on a visa has to exit the country for two to 10 years while waiting on documentation, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Is ICE Scaling Back Enforcement?<\/p>\n In Houston, ICE agents are taking a different tack than in other blue cities like Minneapolis, where, until recently, roughly 3,000 agents were roaming downtown streets and getting into physical altercations with some who questioned their presence.\u00a0<\/p>\n Despite millions of people across the country, including state and federal lawmakers, calling for change to President Trump\u2019s heavy-handed tactics in the wake of two shooting deaths of American citizens by federal agents in Minnesota, little has been done to signal that sweeping reform is on the way.\u00a0<\/p>\n It was announced on Friday that because Congress was at an impasse on funding the Department of Homeland Security, Operation Metro Surge<\/a> \u2014 the initiative that dispatched an army of federal agents to Minneapolis \u2014 would come to an end. It\u2019s a small victory for those concerned about immigration enforcement but it doesn\u2019t do anything to free the people who are essentially imprisoned in detention centers or who have already been deported, Espinosa said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cTheir interest in detaining and deporting as many people as possible is blinding them to what is actually happening,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen we see more industries and more people speaking out about what\u2019s going on then maybe one day they\u2019ll pay attention.\u201d<\/p>\n Rice University political science professor Mark Jones and Ren\u00e9e Cross, senior executive director for the University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs, were the primary investigators on a recent survey that found that 51 percent of respondents in a sample set of 1,502 Texas voters approve of Trump\u2019s immigration policies. The survey was conducted between January 20 and January 31.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jones said the 51 percent approval rating on immigration policy is actually much lower than it was a year ago. \u201cRepublican support isn\u2019t as robust as it used to be and Trump has lost most of his Democratic and independent support for his immigration policy,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s near-universal consensus in deporting criminals, but in terms of the policy as a whole and what it\u2019s become, what used to be a grand slam winner for Texas Republicans is now only a single or a double,\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n Last month, two American citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were shot by federal agents in Minneapolis. Houston residents have sounded the alarm<\/a> that such violence could easily occur in Harris County if a strong message isn\u2019t sent immediately to Congress and Trump that ICE\u2019s aggressive tactics must be reformed.\u00a0<\/p>\n U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, addressed a crowd via Zoom at the Harris County Democratic Party\u2019s annual fundraising gala on January 31, saying that her community was lied to when Operation Metro Surge began in early December.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey came in and said they were going after the worst of the worst,\u201d Klobuchar said. \u201cWe supported help with violent offenders and we supported a broad investigation at the beginning when we thought they were just sending a few people. That\u2019s not what happened. There\u2019s been an assault on the Constitution.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Lawsuits and Calls for Immigration Reform<\/p>\n Klobuchar, a former presidential candidate and current gubernatorial hopeful, told the Harris County Democrats that everyone in the country is sick and tired of the \u201cchaos and corruption in Washington, D.C. right now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMinnesota has been at the center of America\u2019s heartbreak, but we\u2019re also at the center of America\u2019s courage and hope,\u201d Klobuchar said. \u201cFifty thousand Minnesotans marched peacefully in -10 degree weather. They marched with signs that said, Love Melts Ice.\u201d<\/p>\n It was an inspiring message that brought the crowd to its feet several times, but it didn\u2019t keep anyone from being detained, arrested or deported that night or in the subsequent days. While some members of Trump\u2019s loyal following, including Governor Abbott, have acknowledged that the ICE approach needs \u201crecalibrating,\u201d the narrow Republican-majority Congress has failed to budge on calls for immigration reform.\u00a0<\/p>\n Harris County Democrats filed a lawsuit<\/a> on February 6, calling for an end to racial profiling in Houston and seeking to stop ICE from \u201cunlawfully detaining and abusing American citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThese actions violate fundamental constitutional protections and have caused fear, trauma, and real harm in our communities,\u201d said party chair Mike Doyle.\u00a0<\/p>\n Harris County also signed on to legal action<\/a> attempting to thwart Operation Metro Surge. No Kings rallies are scheduled across the country on March 28. The Harris County Commissioners Court passed a resolution in late January condemning ICE and the Department of Homeland Security, with Republican Commissioner Tom Ramsey casting the lone vote against it.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jones said Americans are likely to see ICE scaling back the actions that are most unpopular, in the areas where they generate the most negative press.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe are seeing Trump recalibrate some,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re ratcheting back their presence in blue cities and signaling that they\u2019re not going to be as aggressive in carrying out widespread sweeps and mass actions in cities where they are, quote unquote, not welcome.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The professor added that lawsuits can be useful in delaying a process. \u201cGiven the Trump administration\u2019s lack of focus, delaying is often all you really need, because by the time the initial ruling is overturned on appeal, the Trump administration has moved on or adopted a different set of policy priorities,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pollard and other Houston City Council members have questioned what, if anything, local elected officials can do to help residents feel safe as the tension mounts nationwide with ICE agents in metropolitan communities.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pollard sent a letter to ICE\u2019s Houston field office in January asking that agents remove their masks when interacting with people in the community. He got no response. He also says there\u2019s some merit to scaling back \u201cnon-safety traffic stops,\u201d which can lead to a person getting pulled over for a broken taillight and ending up in an ICE detention facility.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPeople want ICE out of the community and I share their frustration,\u201d Pollard said. \u201cIt\u2019s a challenging thing because we have no authority to tell ICE to get out of Houston. That cannot happen. However, we are not mandated as a city or by state law to do anything to assist ICE. We have so many issues from a local standpoint that have to do with public safety that we could put our efforts and resources into. That should be our main focus.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The councilman clarified that he supports law enforcement removing violent criminals from Houston, regardless of their immigration status. \u201cI don\u2019t care if you\u2019re here legally or illegally; our efforts when it comes to law enforcement should be on those who are causing danger and harm to our communities,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Aubrie-Bass.png\")
Aubrie Barr tells the HISD Board of Managers on February 12 that students are walking out and protesting because they feel powerless. Credit: Screenshot<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ICE-Out.jpeg\")
Heavy-handed immigration tactics are taking a toll on families and children, say leaders with FIEL Houston. Credit: April Towery<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ingrid.jpeg\")
Ingrid, flanked by FIEL leaders Cesar and Aura Espinosa, spoke Saturday about her friend Estefany being deported to Honduras. Credit: April Towery<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Wisdom-High.jpeg\")
Facing the threat of suspension, students walked out of Wisdom High School last Thursday in protest of federal immigration policies. Credit: April Towery<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Trump-approval.png\")
A recent poll shows that 51 percent of surveyed Texans support Trump\u2019s immigration policies. Credit: University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Students.jpeg\")
Students joined Saturday\u2019s protest at Houston City Hall, calling for reform to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Credit: April Towery<\/p>\n