Students and staff at a number of high schools in Albuquerque walked out of their 6th period classes to participate in a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tuesday.
These demonstrations were part of the nationwide “Free America” movement. It was started by Women’s March, a feminist activism group, to protest on the one-year anniversary of President Trump's inauguration to a second term.
In Albuquerque, the protests were directed at the violent tactics being used by ICE to detain people in the United States.
Protests like this have increased over the last year with the spike in ICE arrests, but it’s not typical to see people under the age of 18 organizing them. Memorie Vallejos,15, is a sophomore at Del Norte High School. She helped with the walkout there.
"There's no reason that us as children should be the ones to protest, but there's already been enough protests that we are the ones left to protest,” Vallejos said.
Vallejos said her and her friends walked out because they are tired being scared,
“Kids shouldn’t be afraid to come to school or even go out to the grocery store to get food,” Vallejos said.
Chaley Jensen teaches at Del Norte, and said she supports the walkout because she has seen the fear in her students.
“Some people are carrying papers around so they can prove their citizenship if they do run into ICE. Others don’t have papers and are even more scared, and it's impossible to learn in an environment like that,” Jensen said.
Various high schools across the country participated in this walkout, showcasing that young folks care about the ever increasing presence of ICE in their cities.
Known participating high schools in Albuquerque included: Del Norte, Sandia High, Eldorado, Highland, Albuquerque High.
Interviews and photos done at Del Norte High School were contributed by Sophia Casas.
