Hundreds of Utah students walk out, protest Trump's immigration policies

SALT LAKE CITY — Hundreds of students across the Salt Lake Valley walked out of classes on Friday in protest of President Trump's immigration policies and subsequent crackdown.

"I don't think they should be separating families or going to preschool or elementary schools," said Aniyah Lopez, a senior at West High School in Salt Lake City, one of around 15 schools where walkouts occurred.

"My people are targeted just because we speak Spanish," said Alana Ortega, a West High sophomore. "It's violent. They're taking people away from the place where they can have an opportunity."

Around 300 students walked out of West High School and marched to the sate Capitol. Hundreds more walked out on Friday from Murray High and Hillcrest Junior High in Murray, Taylorsville High in Taylorsville, Corner Canyon High in Draper and Granger High in West Valley City, among others. Betty Taylor, a 12th grader at Cottonwood High School in Murray, helped organize Friday's demonstrations, which involved students from at least 15 schools.

"Every single school had hundreds of students who came out," she said.

The efforts of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, tasked with enforcing U.S. immigration law, and Trump's broader immigration crackdown, though lauded by the president and his backers as a means of maintaining public safety, were the targets of the protesters' ire.

Students at Ben Lomond High School in Ogden walked out of class in protest on Thursday, while students in Orem and Provo staged their own walkouts earlier this week. Students at several other Utah schools protested last week, on top of a massive demonstration in Salt Lake City on Jan. 30 and many other demonstrations around Utah in recent days and weeks.

"I can't stand the fact they are quite literally executing people in the street," said Caden Howard, a Murray High junior who was marching down State Street with around 120 other students from his school and adjacent Hillcrest Junior High School. He was referencing the deaths last month of two protesters in Minneapolis at the hands of immigration agents, Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

While the demonstrating students enthusiastically marched, chanted, carried protest signs and more, Granite School District issued a statement warning of the impact of repeated demonstrations. Students from six Granite schools took part in Friday's action, including Cyprus, Cottonwood, Granger, Olympus, Skyline and Taylorsville high schools.

"These ongoing walkouts are having a large impact on our students' education. As such, we ask that you take time to talk with your student about any planned activities and ensure they are appropriately checked out and supervised by you or another trusted adult," the district's statement reads. "Your involvement plays a critical role in helping students stay safe and make responsible choices."

Whatever the case, students were brimming with enthusiasm as they marched and shouted chants critical of ICE.

"I really hate ICE because they're killing our families, killing ... just friends, family, community. They're killing our country right now," said Freddy Cochrane, a Murray High junior who helped lead marchers from his school. "Our country's in a crisis, and right now our president's worried about killing immigrants and sending them away."

Jenecy Figueroa, a 12th-grader at Taylorsville High School, said she took part in the demonstration to speak for immigrants and others who may be leery of speaking out, fearing backlash from immigration officials. Participants marched along Redwood Road north to the parking lot of a strip mall.

"We came out here to protest for everyone who can't talk," Figueroa said. "People (are) in their houses. People have to stop working to say hidden, just hardworking people."

In West Valley City, hundreds of Granger High School students marched along 3500 South to West Valley City Park.

"Immigrants are free to be here. No immigrants are illegal on stolen land," said Yulisa Gomez, a Granger High senior. "I think it's absolutely necessary to spread awareness, speak out when others can't."

Guadalupe Hernandez, walking with Gomez, suggested immigration agents are engaging in racial profiling.

"They're taking innocent people. They're taking citizens," she said. "They're mainly going for people that are brown."

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