Honking, chants, and cheers filled the air as Smoky Hill students marched to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, also known as ICE.

The group of students set out to peacefully march from the Main entrance to the Front of the local Walgreens. The protests turned out to be larger than Alvarado had thought, with around 50 Smoky Hill students attending.“I did not expect that many people to show up. It was really nerve-racking talking to that many people about it. But it was fun and so good to have so many people care about it.”

Alvarado chose to coordinate the protest after recognizing that no one else was stepping forward to do so.“I knew nobody else was doing it after seeing everything that’s been happening on the news. I know a bunch of people who feel extremely passionate about it, so I just connected to a bunch of people, and I used my Instagram platform and just really pushed it out there to let people know that it was happening.”

As the protest continued, it grew with more students joining. The growing crowd led to several students volunteering as Impromptu speakers, sharing their views with their peers. One of them, Edvin Yeh (11), explained his motivation, “I wanted to voice my opinion about ICE and how we all were originally immigrants that came to America,” Yeh said.

Yeh was one of several speakers who addressed the crowd during the protest. For many participants, the event carried personal significance.

For student Jessica Khadak (12), the protest went beyond symbolism, reflecting personal experiences within the community. “As a Christian and as a daughter of an immigrant who works hard for all that I have, it just really hurts to see how much hate there is when this country was originally founded by Christian values, and that means to love all, and it’s extremely frustrating to see what they have done, and also how people can act so inhumane.”

During the protest, a resident in the Smoky Hill neighborhood tied a flag to a stick and waved it in the air. The flag stated, “Charlie Kirk is my hero.” The message has been associated with white supremacist beliefs.

Many participants took great offense to this. A protester who wishes to stay anonymous had been in the front and had been one of the first to see the neighbor put the flag up. “I was really mad that the neighbor was intentionally trying to upset us to prove some kind of point. He took it down after we left, which just proves that.” While the flag was purposefully put up to outrage and distract the protestors, they continued to march peacefully.

All the participants had the same goal in mind; To have their voices heard and to stop what ICE has been doing in the community. The protest was extremely personal for many participants, Alvarado being one of them.“I had a family member who was detained in Arizona by ICE, and all my family members just have a lot of fear about ICE, so it just all means a lot to me.” Alvarado said.

The Walkout had hit its intended goal of reaching students from diverse backgrounds, grades, and viewpoints. One of the students who wishes to stay anonymous said he had not known about the walkout until the morning, when he was invited by a friend.

Coming from a family with many family members who support ICE, he said the walkout broadened his understanding of the issue. “It made me realize how important it is to educate yourself. For a really long time, I just copied my family without thinking critically (which they enjoyed), but when I started getting outside viewpoints and seeing what these organizations really did, I was able to educate myself and understand that what ICE is doing is illegal and inhuman. Seeing my family follow the narrative spewed by Trump and ICE makes me realize just how important it is to be educated and to educate others.”

For many students, the protest had brought them together to stand up for their beliefs and advocate for their rights.