As anti-ICE protests have continued in Harrisonburg among community and college student groups, city school students staged their own walkouts on Friday in support of their peers. WMRA’s Bridget Manley reports.
Students from Rocktown High School, Harrisonburg High School, and Thomas Harrison Middle School staged student-led walkouts on Friday to protest federal immigration enforcement operations, joining schools across the country in their own walkouts.
Harrisonburg City Public Schools Superintendent Michael Richards said that when school officials were informed of the plans, they worked to ensure students could safely exercise their First Amendment rights, which was their priority.
That included a moratorium on media attendance on school property, and the presence of school staff both outside to support students who marched, and inside to support those who did not participate.
Students delivered speeches and chanted, “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here.” They carried signs that read, “we the people means everyone” and “Jesus told us to love our neighbors, not to deport them.”
MICHAEL RICHARDS: I commend the courage shown by middle and high school students who chose to walk out in opposition to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Their willingness to raise their voices and engage thoughtfully in issues they care about reflects a deep and growing understanding of civic responsibility.
Richards said the walkouts provided students with a “living civics lesson” – an opportunity for deeper learning because students have taken the lead.
RICHARDS: By exercising their right to respectful protest, these students demonstrated that civil disobedience, when grounded in principle and carried out with integrity, remains a powerful tool for participation in public life.
In January, HCPS issued a letter to parents publicly opposing ICE enforcement operations and reiterating its commitment to student safety.
HCPS schools serve a highly diverse, multilingual student population, with students hailing from over 73 countries of origin.
