The Trump Administration’s immigration crackdown has caused a political divide across the United States. While some supporters argue that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement play a crucial role in national security and safety, some critics say that it harms immigrant communities and spreads fear among them. This disagreement has sparked protests across the country.
Trump said he would only arrest “the worst of the worst,” but after a year, we’ve seen countless arrests of innocent civilians. According to TracReports, there have been 68,289 detainees as of February 7 and only 18,030 had been criminally convicted.
According to a report by The Guardian, eight people died in ICE custody or in confrontations with immigration agents just in 2026. One of them was Alex Pretti, a 37 year-old intensive care nurse for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs who was fatally shot by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This came just two weeks after the killing of Renee Nicole Good by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, also in Minneapolis.
“Violence doesn’t solve anything,” said Rachael Rodriguez, Latinos In Action teacher at SWHS. “It just deepens fear and divides communities.”
Schools in Minnesota and across the country have also been affected by ICE. Due to a high number of reports, some schools have been going into lockouts or canceling classes to keep their students safe.
School and state policy can prevent ICE from entering or speaking to their students.
“The only way ICE would be able to enter the building would be with District Office approval along with a legal warrant issued by the courts,” said Kerri Carlton, principal of Sedro-Woolley High School.
“Without the documents, they would not be allowed to enter our campus or speak to any students.”
Students all across the country have held school walkouts against the Trump administration ICE crackdowns. Some Sedro-Woolley High School students have shown clear disagreement with the ICE around the community. Sedro-Woolley students decided to hold a walkout on Friday, February 6 against the actions of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“We are really concerned for our community,” said Casey May Figueroa, a SWHS school student who participated in the Friday walkout. “There are people being taken away, I think that should be paid attention to.”
Although the protest was peaceful, near the end someone threw cups of gasoline at the crowd of students, which was reported to the police.
“I think that they were overdoing it,” said Jovany Garcia, a student who participated in the walkout. “It was a friendly protest, they overreacted and it wasn’t necessary for them to do that.”
Later, two counter-protesters started throwing handfuls of ice at the protesters. The protesters retaliated by throwing cups of water back at them.
“I was really disappointed in the fact that would happen at something that was peaceful to begin with,” said Rodriguez. “I also was very unhappy how the students responded to the ice being thrown; two wrongs don’t make a right.”
Not all Sedro-Woolley students supported the reason for the walkout, with some students saying they believe ICE plays an important role in enforcing laws and keeping our community safe.
“I support ICE because they’re taking criminals and people breaking laws out of the country,” said Ava Ford, a School Board Representative for the Sedro-Woolley School District. “Allowing American citizens to be put first over people that are coming here, breaking our laws, hurting our children and women.”
ICE supporters argue that the agency plays a necessary role and helps deport “illegal immigrants,” prevents drugs and human trafficking, uphold immigration policies, to ensure the safety of the American people. Even though Ford didn’t agree with the walkout, she still showed respect for her peers’ right to express their beliefs.
“I believe that people can express their own opinion however they choose to,” said Ford. “It’s just not what I stand for, and I’m not gonna rip on people for their beliefs. And if they want to skip class and support their cause, then that’s what they want to do.”
The walkout also came into discussions in recent school board meetings, where some parents questioned if the school encouraged the protest. They were concerned that the students were influenced by the school instead of acting on their own.
“I don’t like how at the school board meetings, some parents were trying to push it and say it was the school that’s pushing this agenda on our children when it’s not,” said Ford “It was the kids that arranged it themselves, not the school.”
School walkouts aren’t automatically protected speech, and you could receive disciplinary actions for unexcused absences, but you can’t be punished more harshly if the unexcused absence was due to a walkout.
“Our district policy per unexcused absences is once you reach two or three unexcused absences, we are calling home and we’re setting up a parent meeting,” said Carlton. “If there were to be future walkouts or future protests, and someone participates and they have accumulated multiple unexcused absences, that’s where we do step in.”
Even in times of political divide among communities, Rodriguez wants everyone to remember that everyone has the right to live, and people should be treated with respect, no matter their citizenship status.
“In the end, I just hope people understand that everyone is human. We all carry our own battles, our own stories, and our own dreams. And every person deserves the right to live a life built on compassion, respect, and genuine understanding and opportunity,” said Rodriguez.
