Hundreds of California High School students walked out of their classes and marched from the campus to San Ramon’s City Hall on Feb. 6 to protest against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The anti-ICE protest was one of many across all of the San Ramon Valley Unified School District high school campuses in response to the excessive force that ICE agents have used against undocumented immigrants and U.S. citizens during mass deportation across the country.

“NO MORE WAR PIGS HAVE THE POWER” and “Fight Ignorance and Not Immigrants” were among the messages scribbled on handmade signs that were displayed by more than 300 students who marched along Alcosta Boulevard to City Hall.

Many students felt that the walkout and protest were an important statement because of ICE raids across the country, including in Minneapolis, Minnesota, last month, when two American citizens, Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, were shot and killed by ICE agents.

They are among the nearly 40 people who have been killed by ICE or died in ICE custody since 2025, according to The Guardian.

There was also the case of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, who was detained by ICE in Minneapolis last month. He was photographed wearing a blue knit bunny hat with white floppy ears while standing outside a family member’s house, while ICE agents tried to coax the family to come outside.

The walkout was organized by a group of California High students named Good Trouble Youth, whose goal is to help students become civically engaged. The group announced this walkout on social media, where they gained schoolwide attention with 576 likes and 580 shares, using tags such as #abolishice and #walkout.

“It’s important that we protest because we are the next generation of America,” said 12th grader Hailey Yi, the organizer of the protest. “And we are going to fight for our future.”

For many students, this was their chance to be heard and bring attention to the injustices across the United States.

Ava Langon, a 12th grader, said part of the reason she attended the march was to support her family and the people who can’t speak up for themselves. Other students said they joined the protest to address the brutal treatment that immigrants have faced because of ICE officers.

“It’s getting absolutely dehumanizing,” 11th grader Kiyoko Clough said. “It’s absolutely disgusting how he [President Donald Trump] thinks he [Trump] can treat people and kill people and just expect nothing to happen to him [the protests].”

One of the main messages that students want to send is that it is unacceptable to split families apart.

“I want justice for all the families that were separated,” 10th grader Zoe Green said when the story of Liam Conejo Ramos was brought to her attention.

There was some controversy at a similar protest at San Ramon Valley High School, where pro-ICE and anti-ICE protests were organized simultaneously.

“It was shocking to see people out supporting a group like ICE,” said Nicolas Kislyuk, an 11th grader at California High School. “I think the pro-ICE group only strengthened the argument for the anti-ICE protesters.”

Superintendent CJ Cammack sent out an email to the community on Jan. 29 after the district became aware of walkouts planned at secondary schools.

“When students initiate or participate in a protest or walkout during the school day, they are exercising their Constitutional right to peaceful protest,” Cammack wrote. “The district cannot legally prohibit these expressions of free speech during the instructional day.”

School administrators remained with students as they walked to City Hall to ensure their safety. Students who walked out of class were marked absent by teachers, but many who were 18 years old were able to sign themselves out. Others had their parents clear their absences.

The protest was a major success with support from the community and the district. Good Trouble Youth assures another protest will be organized soon with an even bigger crowd and a bigger voice.

“I don’t think it’s in your job description to kill people,” Langon said.

Sanhita Chava is a 9th grader at California High School in San Ramon. This story first appeared in the school’s newspaper, The Californian. 

Correction: In an earlier version of this story the credit for the top photograph was misidentified. The photo is by Kate Seoyeon Jung.