Students at growing list of Fort Worth-area schools hold walkouts to protest ICE
Students at a growing number of schools in the Fort Worth area have participated in walkouts during school hours to protest recent shooting deaths at the hands of federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, with even more walkouts planned in the coming days and weeks.
On Wednesday, roughly 100 students at Haltom High School in Haltom City walked out of their school at around 10 a.m., going down Beach Street and onto Western Center Boulevard before ending on Haltom Road and arriving back at their school.
“We’re protesting ICE today because they kill people and get no punishment at all,” a Haltom High School student said during the protest while marching down Western Center Boulevard.
Other schools in the region that have had student walkouts include Trimble Technical High, Richland High, Birdville High, L.D. Bell High, and several others. Young Women’s Leadership Academy in downtown Fort Worth also had a walkout last week, with students holding anti-ICE signs and chanting against ICE while taking a lap of the building, with faculty guiding them as they marched on the sidewalk.
Walkouts have come in response to two Minneapolis residents being killed in Minnesota last month at the hands of ICE agents. The first, Renee Nicole Good, was fatally shot in her car by agents on Jan. 7, and the second, Alex Pretti, was fatally shot Jan. 24 while being detained by more than a half dozen agents during a protest.
The Department of Justice reversed course last week and opened a civil rights investigation into the killing of Pretti after initially labeling him as a domestic terrorist who had intent to harm federal agents. Pretti was legally carrying a registered firearm at the time of his killing. Earlier this week a medical examiner officially labeled Pretti’s death a homicide.
After Wednesday’s walkout at Haltom High, school leadership released a statement saying the district is not legally allowed to take actions that could be perceived to support or deny students from any peaceful response to a cause.
“Each day, our campus serves more than 2,500 students,” the school wrote in a statement. “Fewer than 100 students chose to participate in the walkout today, which represents a very small portion of our student body. The students who participated did so peacefully and without incident. At no time was there a disruption to campus safety or daily instructional operations.”
TEA warns walkouts could spark investigations
On Tuesday, the Texas Education Agency released guidance regarding student walkouts, absences and possible consequences related to political activism. TEA said that students must be marked absent and schools risk losing daily attendance funding if they allow or encourage students to walk out of class. The agency also said that teachers who facilitate walkouts will be subject to investigation and possible sanctions that could include revoking their licenses.
If there is evidence of a school system facilitating a walkout, the district will be subject to investigation, which could lead to the district being taken over and a new board of managers being named to replace the existing school board, state officials said.
“State law prohibits school systems from supporting or opposing any forms of political activism that disrupts learning during the school day, including facilitation of political activism through the use of taxpayer-funded district resources,” a TEA spokesperson wrote in a statement.
During Wednesday’s Haltom High walkout, dozens of students held anti-ICE signs.
“This country was built on immigrants,” one student shouted during the protest.
“We deserve to have a country where we can feel safe,” said another student.
Haltom High has a student Hispanic population of almost 62%, according to U.S. World & News Report.
School leadership at Haltom High said they made a concerted effort to not support or oppose Wednesday’s walkout to comply with Texas law.
“We recognize that students may express themselves in different ways, and we value respectful dialogue within our school community,” Principal Michell Sheasley wrote in a message to parents. “Please know that student safety is always our top priority, and we will continue to work closely with students, staff and families to uphold a positive and supportive school environment.”
School walkouts have come after recent citywide protests and marches against ICE in both Fort Worth and Dallas. On Jan. 8, several hundred people took to the streets of downtown Dallas holding signs and chanting anti-ICE slogans. The next night, several hundred more did the same in Sundance Square in Fort Worth.
Hundreds of other schools and cities across the United States have organized similar walkouts and anti-ICE protests in recent weeks and days. Those cities with the largest protests include New York City, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Detroit, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Charlotte and Seattle.
