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Students at several San Antonio high schools walked out of class Friday to protest the recent actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
At least 10 area high schools had walkouts planned Friday, following multiple walkouts at other schools over the past two weeks.
At least a hundred students walked out of O’Connor High School on the Far North West Side Friday morning, continuing a trend of enthusiastic participation.
18-year-old Allianna Capraro said she was encouraged by the turnout.
“I was so worried like we were going to go out, and no one would be here. And then we ended up getting so much support,” Capraro said, pointing to the people honking their horns as they passed, and the Northside ISD and Helotes police cars following them on their route.
After meeting at the band parking lot, the students chanted and carried signs as they walked along the sidewalk to Bandera Road and continued past Helotes City Hall.
Several students carried signs that read “No human being is illegal” and “Skipping lessons to teach one.” Others carried Mexican flags.
15-year-old Ollie Dominguez brought their trumpet to make some noise.
Ollie said they joined the walkout because ICE agents are killing people.
“Families are being ripped apart,” Ollie said. “They're literally taking anybody with a darker-skinned complexion off the street.”
The detention of Liam Conejo Ramos in nearby Dilley, Texas has sparked large protests this week, after photos of the 5-year-old’s bunny hat and Spiderman backpack captured the nation’s attention.
In September, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that ICE could use racial profiling as grounds for immigration stops.
Capraro said her biggest motivation for participating in the walkout were the ICE agents killing Renee Macklin Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota.
“Like normally, when there was ICE stuff going on, they would kidnap people, but then you would still be able to find them on record. People are going missing and not on record. And then they've started just outright killing people and slaughtering people,” Capraro said.
Both Ollie and Capraro said it was important for high schoolers like them to speak up, and that walking out during school had purpose.
“When it's like this, a lot of people are on the roads, and a lot of people are going to see,” Capraro said.
Ollie said walking out of school draws attention to the students who are afraid to go to school when ICE agents are around.
“We want the future of America to be safe. So that's why the future of America is speaking out,” Ollie said.
Capraro said she wanted adults to know that young people like her are educated and informed.
“A lot of us nowadays, we look at politics, we look at what's going on, and if the older people are not going to make the world better for us, we will make the world better for us and for the people after us,” Capraro said.
Parents of the O’Connor students spread out across multiple points of the protest to observe and support their children, including Ollie’s mom.
Another O’Connor mom named Lauren said her son was adamant that he needed to have his voice heard.
“This doesn't just impact us adults. It impacts the future of our children,” Lauren said. “As adults, what we do trickles down to them, and if we sit back and do nothing, then they’re accustomed to sit back and not use their voice as well.”
Lauren also said she was amazed by the number of students who participated. She said by showing up they represented an America built on unity.
“America was built on the back of immigrants, not just Black, Brown, white, everything. We're all America. We're the melting pot of the world. We're what make America great,” Lauren said.
In a statement, Northside ISD spokesman Barry Perez said the district’s campus principals have worked proactively to message families before protests for the past two weeks.
“Our stance remains consistent: while we do not physically prevent students from exercising their right to protest, we do not sponsor or endorse these events,” Perez said in an email. “Student safety is our primary concern, especially when individuals choose to leave campus property.”
Perez said Northside students who walk out are marked absent but face no further consequences unless they do things like disrupt class or impede traffic.
