Fort Worth students walk out to protest immigration crackdown. ‘Community living in fear.’
Several dozen students at Fort Worth’s Young Women’s Leadership Academy walked out of school Monday morning in protest of federal immigration policies they say are hurting their families.
The walkout was the latest in a series of protests against a sweeping crackdown on undocumented immigrants that has led to thousands of arrests nationwide, including dozens in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Carrying signs, banners and flags of Mexico, Honduras, Argentina and other Latin American countries, the students marched a serpentine route from their 8th Street school through Sundance Square, stopping at the Tarrant County Courthouse before heading back to campus. The downtown streets were sparsely trafficked as students walked by, but they got the occasional supportive honk from a passing motorist or encouraging word from a bystander.
The walkout was organized by the school’s LULAC Youth Council in conjunction with A Day Without Immigrants, a nationwide campaign to draw attention to the importance of immigrants in the U.S. economy. The marchers followed the walkout with a rally at Fort Worth ISD’s central office on Monday afternoon.
Mia Morales, a student at the academy and the youth council’s vice president, said in a text message that many of the students who marched have family members who are affected by federal immigration policy. The students who marched want to see change, she said — “whether it’s protections for undocumented students, more resources for immigrant families, or an end to anti-immigrant policies that hurt our community.”
“FWISD is majority Latino, yet we still see people in our community living in fear of deportation, struggling to access resources, or feeling like they don’t belong,” Morales wrote. “That’s not OK.”
One seventh-grader, whom the Star-Telegram isn’t identifying by name because she’s a minor whose family could be at risk of deportation, said she participated in the walkout because she wants people to understand that immigrants are nothing to be afraid of. The U.S.-born daughter of immigrants from Mexico, the student said the fear of forcible separation troubles immigrant families anytime they go out in public. That fear isn’t new, she said, but it’s been heightened for mixed-status families since the beginning of the second Trump administration.
That fear exists for her family, as well, the student said. Her family has always been tight-knit, she said. Although she’s a U.S. citizen by virtue of her birth, she said if her parents were deported, she’d have no choice but to go with them.
Another student said her parents are undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children. The recent changes to federal immigration policy, as well as the rhetoric around the issue, makes her feel as though her family isn’t wanted here, she said.
But seeing her classmates come together around the issue was exciting, the student said. It was a reminder that she didn’t need to feel embarrassed, because many of her friends are going through the same thing.
Fort Worth ISD says schools should be ‘safe’
Late last month, Trump administration officials reversed Biden-era restrictions that prevented immigration authorities from making arrests at “sensitive locations” like schools, places of worship and hospitals. Days later, a substitute teacher in Fort Worth ISD came under fire for a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, inviting Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to come to his school and make arrests.
The immigration crackdown has led to demonstrations across the country, including walkouts in several North Texas school districts, demonstrations at city hall in Arlington and in downtown Dallas and a rally at the Texas Capitol.
In a message to families, Karen Molinar, Fort Worth ISD’s interim superintendent, acknowledged that some families might be worried about changes to federal immigration policies, and said the district is committed to creating a learning environment where all students feel welcome, regardless of their immigration status.
Molinar reminded parents that the district doesn’t collect data on student or family immigration status. If a student’s parent or legal guardian is detained while the student is at school, district leaders will make sure they’re safe until an authorized adult can come pick them up, she said.
“Please rest assured that Fort Worth ISD remains steadfast in its mission to provide schools that are safe, inviting, and respectful for all,” Molinar said.
This story was originally published February 3, 2025 at 5:01 PM.
