Redlands students take the lead in walkout over ICE

REDLANDS, Calif. – Students from five Redlands Unified secondary schools walked out of class Friday afternoon, gathering at the intersection of Redlands Boulevard and Orange Street, also known as Peace Corner, to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and call on the school board to listen to student concerns.

By early afternoon, Peace Corner was filled at all sides with students holding handmade signs, many of them on notebook paper, and chanting as traffic moved steadily through downtown. Car horns frequently filled the air with support.

The walkout was organized by a handful of students, who invited participation from classmates across several campuses via an Instagram post. District officials later estimated that around 450 students from five campuses – Beattie Middle School, Clement Middle School, Cope Middle School, Moore Middle School and Redlands High School – participated in the walkout. 

Students said the demonstration was organized in response to concern about immigration enforcement and what they see as its impact on families and communities — concerns that have spurred similar student walkouts across Southern California and beyond in recent weeks. In the San Fernando Valley, hundreds of high school students from nearly 30 campuses staged protests over ICE operations. In Riverside and San Diego, students also walked out of class to decry immigration raids.

“There are people here today walking around in masks … killing people based on legal status, when no one is really illegal on stolen land,” said Lazaro, an 11th grader at Redlands High School who helped organize the walkout. He said he hoped the demonstration would show others that “there are people who care, people are listening.”

Lazaro later emphasized that among his peers he often hears the sentiment, “There is no point in protesting.” Going forward, he said, “I want to see more organizing like this happening. To see that people actually care this much, it is good. We need more people like this in our world, not like the people who are running our government or going around and killing my family, my friends, my community.” 

The gathering remained concentrated at the intersection for roughly two and a half hours. Some students arrived in groups from their campuses, while others joined classmates who already assembled downtown. Signs referenced the need for immigrant rights, student voice, memes from their generation, and the urgency for community protection. 

Student speakers took turns using a megaphone to address the crowd. Jax, a high school student and one of the organizers, said, “Our community is being impacted by ICE and the school board policies, so I think it is really important for someone to lead [this] and get students aware.” 

He urged the message that people need to take care of each other, saying “the government is not taking care of us.”

Many of the signs drew parallels between global and local events. Jax touched on this connection in his statement, “We are making the connection between the oppression of ICE and the oppression of the school board members and we are here to combat all oppression, it is not an isolated incident.”

As the walkout stretched through the students' lunchtime, a mutual aid project known as Redlands Free Market provided pizza and water. Students could be seen holding a pizza slice in one hand, lugging their backpacks while carrying a sign in the other. 

Several parents were also present, standing along the sidewalks or near the corners in support of their children. 

In a message sent to families Friday evening, Superintendent Juan Cabral began by recognizing, “The ability to speak, advocate, and engage in civic dialogue is an important part of developing informed and responsible young people.”

However, Cabral noted that during the school day, the campuses are closed and students who leave without any authorization are marked absent in accordance with standard procedures. 

More students participated as the afternoon went on. Ally, a 10th grader, Ben, a 10th grader, and Praise, an 11th grader, all of Redlands High School, carried a flag. All three said, “We are here to spread awareness, these protests can really make a change in the world.”

Praise, a daughter of immigrants, added, “I want to fight against ICE because they not only break our constitutional rights but also break up families… As Americans we should fight against any corruption, and right here my friends, the school, and I are fighting against that – no matter how young we are.” 

As the afternoon progressed, students continued chanting and holding signs, while volunteers in pink vests moved through the crowd to make sure all was well. By the end of the event, participants began dispersing in small groups, some returning toward their respective campuses and others leaving with parents.