Approximately 150 high school students participated in a student-led walkout around the high school campus April 16 in protest of ICE and the government’s recent immigration practices.
The schoolwide walkout is in response to a series of events initiated by agents of the federal government’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency over the past year.
In January 2025, two ICE raids at the Cilantro Taqueria locations in Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights occurred, prompting community backlash.
ICE was deployed to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport beginning March 23 in order to assist TSA officers. The TSA officers, at that point, had been working without pay for five weeks due to a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security.
By March 30, TSA agents began receiving pay again, and ICE had left the airport by April 9.
The protest began at 2:30 p.m. began in the egress. Information about the walkout was posted through the @shaker_students_against_ICE Instagram page and on flyers around the school.
As students gathered, they were met by security personnel who did not permit the students to leave the building.
Senior Jacquelin Anzo said the group of student protesters found other ways to get outside and continue the protest. “They didn’t let us leave, so we had to turn around,” she said. “We went through the opposite way. We walked around to the front, and we were at the flagpole for about five or 10 minutes.”
Anzo said that after waiting and chanting at the flagpole, students marched around the school. When it began to rain , she said, students re-entered the building through the egress and continued to protest in the hallways, chanting “F— ICE.”
After students re-entered the building, the group marched toward the lower cafeteria entrance. According to Anzo, a fight broke out during this stage of the protest. Students increased their pace and headed toward the library.
Due to the fight, Principal Isaiah Wyatt cancelled all after school activities. He made a P.A. announcement to students at 3:09 p.m. “Today during dismissal, we are going to dismiss students out of the building. No conferences,” he said. “Students are not to go to conferences today.”
Wyatt allowed athletics to continue as scheduled.
According to an email sent by Wyatt at 3:45 p.m., a fight unrelated to the protest occurred while the protest was ending.
A student, whose father’s passport expired and who feared being identified by ICE, requested anonymity before commenting. They said the walkout was necessary. They said, “This felt better than doing nothing, even if it wasn’t the most organized protest.”
