Students Protest ICE in Widespread Walkouts

By Dylan Xie April. 5, 2026

On Jan. 30, hundreds of students across the Bay Area walked out of classrooms in a coordinated protest against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in response to the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Prettiby ICE officials in Minnesota on Jan. 7 and Jan. 24, respectively. What began as social media posts turned into a full-scale movement that mobilized students across the nation, including around 300 students from Leland. Jan. 30 was an attempt to create an economic blackout, displaying widespread resistance against ICE through avoiding school, work and daily financial activity.

“I participated in the ICE protests to defend my beliefs and stand with my Mexican heritage, since they are being oppressed and unlawfully detained. Though my parents were disappointed that I’d be missing school, they encouraged me to express my views and take action,” Sophomore Joel Hoying said.

Thousands of other students in the Bay Area participated in their school-specific walkouts on Jan. 30. According to The Almanac, roughly 600 students from Mountain View High School joined their march to downtown Mountain View, over half of the student population at Acalanes High School participated in the protest, states NBC News, and up to 10,000 students across eights chools in San Mateo were expected to join, as per KTVU FOX 2. At Leland, those who chose to protest assembled in the quad during brunch break to leave the campus and join other local schools in the walkout.

“I did not attend the ICE walkouts due to the combined pressure of academics and my family. My parents had heard about the potential protest happening and wanted me to prioritize school and stay on track academically. Since I also had multiple assignments and a test on the same day, I had to make the difficult decision by staying behind while my friends participated,” Freshman Riya Dubal said.

Despite the uniqueness of the situation, the teachers were instructed to continue teaching normally as if nothing had happened while administrators, supporting the students’ rights to protest, would discuss plans regarding absences and repercussions.

Following the walkout, Principal Harveen Bal shared with the school community that “student voice and civic engagement are important; our primary responsibility is always to ensure the safety, supervision and well-being of all students,”and “staff followed established district protocols to ensure student safety and minimize disruption to learning.”

According to the guidelines shared with school admins by the district, students who walkout during the school day may face disciplinary actions similar to any other unexcused absences.

“The administration notified staff that students were not allowed to leave campus and that they would respect students’ right to protest if they chose to do so, recommending that they protestin the quad area,” Anu Sarkar, Science Department, said.

In agreement with the San José Unified Student Handbook, students are only allotted one absence for a protest or any form of civic engagement such as voting, poll working, strikes and public commenting given they notify the school ahead of the absence.

“Only about five students notified me beforehand regarding attending the protest. Bal had offered the quad area for the students to assemble, but they decided to leave campus; this classifies as unexcused absences due to the fact that the admins were unable to account for them off-campus,” Linda Wung, Classified Staff, said.

Juliana Shin Art

Despite the academic and legislative pressure faced by students, this widespread political activism spanning across the Bay Area reflects the upcoming generations’ advocacy for change and belief in their freedomof speech.

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About the Contributors

Dylan Xie

Staff Writer

Dylan Xie is a sophomore at Leland High School and a staff writer for The Charger Account. In his spare time, he likes to play soccer, work out, and hang out with friends.

Juliana Shin

Artist

Juliana Shin is a sophomore at Leland High School and an Artist for The Charger Account. In her free time, she admits to doom scrolling on Pinterest for drawing references or playing with dog, Simba. During other times, she prefers to sleep in and watch horror movies with her mom.