Hundreds of students at Waco and University high schools walked out of their last-period class to demonstrate against federal immigration actions.
Hundreds of students from Waco High School and University High School walked out of their afternoon classes Friday with signs and flags to join a nationwide protest against federal immigration enforcement.
The walkouts were organized on social media, joining protests in other schools across the state and nation, including San Antonio and Austin, after federal immigration agents killed protester Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
“The youth, we’re so important and it’s important because we’re the future of the country,” said Rashel Villa, a junior who organized the University High School walkout, which drew at least 200 students to the sidewalk on New Road. She spoke to the Bridge on Thursday before the walkout.
“We’re the future because at the end of the day, we cycle through and so it’s important that we make a change, and we have motivation to do that, so that maybe somebody is going to be inspired by this and become the next president.”
UHS senior Andrea Monrial said she was protesting the impact of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and arrests on families.
“There are so many people who get ripped from their families for wanting to work and wanting to be able to make a fair life themselves, and it’s not fair,” she said. “ICE has detained children, they’ve kidnapped people, they’ve killed people. It’s not fair. And there’s this whole agenda about the American dream, and yet they’re taking that away from people because they weren’t able to get here the way they want them to.”
During the University High protest, organizers strolled around the picket line, discouraging bad language.
University High junior D’Yeon Martinez siad helping organize the protest was about ensuring people felt their voices were heard.
“Because not all people can come out here and do this,” Martinez said. “We want to show advocacy. We’re always being preached to about (how) we need to stand up for ourselves, stand up for what we believe in, and that’s what we are doing here. … We’re showing that we’re doing it peacefully. We’re congregating, everybody’s just like together and unique, all in one, and just in that bondness of the school, showing that we are together.”
The Waco demonstrations follow the killing of Pretti, an intensive care nurse who was shot multiple times after he used his cellphone to record Border Patrol officers conducting an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis.
The Trump administration has come under criticism for that killing and the Jan. 7 death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot behind the wheel of her vehicle by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.
Four miles across town on another section of New Road on Friday afternoon, a couple hundred Waco High School students joined the protest. Waco High School junior Jose Juarez said he was marching on behalf of those who were afraid.
“Sometimes in our community, they can’t say as much because we’re afraid we can be taken away,” he said. “Most of us come from parents who don’t have papers. But they can’t show how they feel. We can speak up for them because they can’t.”
Senior Tyrione Davis added: “People need to know without immigrants, there would be nothing. Everything around us is made by immigrants.”
Waco Independent School District officials learned about the protest plans earlier in the week and notified parents and spoke with organizers.
“We are aware of student-led discussions regarding potential walkouts related to immigration policies,” Waco ISD said in a statement Friday. “Our primary focus is balancing support for student voices with our unwavering commitment to campus safety and the integrity of the learning environment.
“Although opportunities for students to practice civil discourse are valued, the Waco ISD Student Handbook is clear: “A student who is absent without permission from school, any class, any required special program, or any required tutorial will be considered in violation of the compulsory attendance law and subject to disciplinary action.”
