On Jan. 30, nearly two-thirds of the Urban student body left school just after noon and headed for Dolores Park. There, they joined thousands of San Franciscans protesting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) actions and violence across the country. Protesters held signs bearing messages such as “The only ICE we need is in the Arctic” and “We are low on eggs because all the chickens are in Congress.”
The Bay Area chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) organized the San Francisco rally as part of a nationwide ICE Out protest and general strike calling for no work, no school and no shopping. According to USA Today, protesters held anti-ICE demonstrations and strikes in all 50 U.S. states. Most were in solidarity with mass protests in Minnesota, which denounced ICE’s detainment of both documented and undocumented people as well as the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
In San Francisco, youth made up a large part of last Friday’s protest, with students from dozens of Bay Area high schools in attendance.
According to SF Gate, Ruth Asawa School of the Arts (SOTA) student Amiko Muscat ’26 created SF Youth Against ICE to call students to action after recognizing a gap between young people’s online engagement and real-world action. After Muscat posted about the protest on SF Youth Against ICE’s social media, students from across the city began planning for their school’s participation in the walkout.
“I love seeing people stand up for something. It’s amazing to see some people my age going to protests, because a lot of times it’s older people, and it seems sometimes like kids don’t care. But, evidently, they do,” said Adella Honigberg ’29, Lick-Wilmerding High School student and walkout attendee, in an interview with The Urban Legend during the walkout.
Cole Ambrocente ’26 and Lucy Sylvester ’26 collaborated with SF Youth Against ICE to rally fellow Urban students to take action by walking out of school.
“Rather than a passive form of civil engagement, [the walkout] was active,” Sylvester said. “I didn’t want to let the opportunity pass by me to say something and do something for other people. … It’s terrifying right now — specifically with ICE, [which] is not one of those things that you can stand up to and not fear.”
“I feel like our generation has been pretty labeled to older generations as a lazy generation, … not caring as much about things,” said Ambrocente, who leads Urban’s Blues for Justice club. “One of the reasons that it was so important to SF Youth Against ICE to make sure everything is as youth led as possible is to show that [youth] can do stuff and they can speak out. … It’s one thing doing [activism] on social media, … but that only goes so far.”
Though most schools did not formally cancel classes, many students expressed little hesitation to walk out. “School is obviously super important, but it’s not as important as the lives of other people,” walkout attendee Mila Farmer ’27 said.
Holding signs with messages such as “We are skipping our lessons to teach you one,” students from across the city attended the walkout despite missing class time. “It’s kind of my duty, as a citizen, to exercise … my right [to] free speech, and I think this is something that … we, as a country, need to speak out about,” said Leona Cyster ’26, Lowell High School student and walkout attendee, in an interview with The Urban Legend.
Youth involvement was not limited to San Francisco high schools. Students from local middle and elementary schools, as well as East Bay high schools, participated in Friday’s walkout. “Compar[ed to] … missing one day [of school], … having my voice heard and being a person out here supporting the movement trumps that,” said Reese Bennett ’27, a walkout attendee and student at Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland, in an interview with The Urban Legend.
The protest in Dolores Park was one of several anti-ICE demonstrations in the Bay Area. Protesters also gathered at UC Berkeley, Santa Clara University, San Mateo’s Central Park, Alameda City Hall and the Fruitvale BART station in Oakland, according to the San Francisco Standard.
“In San Francisco, it’s definitely a bit of an echo chamber — but I do see a lot of strong anti-ICE sentiment around the Bay Area, and I hope this encourages other people to speak up,” Lowell High School student and walkout attendee Sydney Sharp ’26 said in an interview with The Urban Legend.
For some, participation in Friday’s walkout held personal significance. “As an immigrant myself, and growing up among an immigrant family, I think [it] is especially important to speak out at this time, and it’s also part of the reason why I’m here,” Lowell High School student and walkout attendee Shoon Mon ’26 said in an interview with The Urban Legend. “I’m also [here] in solidarity with a bunch of my classmates and people all across San Francisco.”
“This is personal for me. My father was deported, and … that has disrupted my life,” Balboa High School student and walkout attendee Gabriela Ruiz ’27 said in an interview with The Urban Legend. “People have been hurt by ICE — children, mothers, families. … Unfortunately, it’s happening [everywhere]: Families are being separated. I just need for that to end.”
Students hope the walkout will help prompt changes on a national level. “Students [in] the U.S. are showing the government and the current administration that we’re not happy about what’s happening, and that we’re actually going to use our voice to try to make change,” Ambrocente said.
Many students shared their hope that anti-ICE demonstrations, protests and other forms of resistance will continue. “[Young people] care, and we’re speaking up ’cause we’re not afraid,” Ruiz said. “We’re not afraid of ICE. They can do whatever they want, [but] we’re not gonna stop talking.”