Hundreds of Portage High School students voiced their protest of Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions Thursday morning, walking out of classes to do so.
The students marched around the football field, chanting slogans including “ICE out,” “No ICE” and “No justice, no peace.”
Students at high schools in Griffith and Munster held protests as well, though late Wednesday, ahead of Munster’s walkout, police and school officials responded to a social media threat to “shoot up the school.”
The students in Northwest Indiana joined a growing movement across the Chicago area. Students at Hammond Central also staged a walkout Monday, as have students at other schools throughout the region.
Some of the students in Portage slipped away from the main group, returning to the school and approaching the front of the school, where passersby on U.S. 6 and Airport Road honked their horns in support.
A pro-Trump flag blew onto the roadway but was picked up by a police officer after at least one person drove over it.
Among the signs the student protesters held were ones that read, “Immigrants built America,” “We are not savages or animals,” “They blame immigrants so we don’t blame billionaires,” “Catch us at work because you never see us begging for money,” “Hitler started with mass deportation,” “You can’t love the culture but hate the people” and others.
The protest was led and organized by students, Portage Township Schools Communications Director Melissa Deavers said. Not all students participated. The ones who did were marked absent for the classes they didn’t attend.
A large police presence and staff protected the students from any interaction with the public. Journalists were not allowed to interview the students at the scene.
On Wednesday, PHS student Belen Contreras emailed information about the walkout.
“This walkout is being organized to speak out against ICE brutality and to stand in solidarity with immigrant families who are too often silenced, targeted, or ignored. For many students, this issue is not political, it is personal. It affects our families, our friends and our sense of safety in our own community,” Contreras said.
“Students will participate peacefully by holding posters and flags that represent who we are and what we stand for. We will also have microphones so students can share their stories, fears and hopes, and so our voices can be heard beyond our school walls,” the email said.
No personal stories could be heard outside the football field.
“By walking out of class, we are choosing to teach a different lesson, one about humanity, equality and the importance of speaking up when something is wrong. We are hoping to raise awareness, spark conversation, and remind people that students care deeply about justice and the world we are inheriting,” Contreras’ email said.
Portage students participate in the No Place for Hate campaign, begun at Portage Township Schools and later spread to the business community through the Greater Portage Chamber of Commerce. The campaign’s intent is to build character through the critical values of responsibility, fairness, honesty, respect and compassion.
The students aren’t alone in speaking out against ICE. A resistance movement is beginning in Valparaiso following an informational session that drew so many people recently, the room was filled to capacity and many people had to be turned away.
On Thursday, border czar Tom Homan announced the federal immigration agents would phase out operations in Minnesota, where agents in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area arrested more than 4,000 people.
The Trump administration has called the arrested people “dangerous criminal aliens,” but many people with no criminal records, including children and American citizens, have also been detained.
“The surge is leaving Minneapolis safer,” Homan said. ICE agents killed two Americans there amid massive protests and criticism of ICE agents’ tactics.
Griffith
To shouts of “I love you! I love everyone!” at least 100 Griffith High students also staged a short walkout Thursday morning, walking to the south end of the track and soccer field before turning around. School administrators, as well as several Griffith Police officers and a Lake County officer, patrolled the area to make sure everything remained safe.
Griffith Public Schools Superintendent Leah Dumezich said in a statement that students used their lunch and study periods for the walkout, not class time. She commended them for remaining peaceful.
“We respect students’ rights to express themselves in a lawful and peaceful manner while maintaining an orderly learning environment,” Dumezich said. “The event remained peaceful, and school operations continued as scheduled.
“Griffith Public Schools remains committed to providing a safe, supportive, and inclusive environment for all students.”
Kelly Peck, a member of harm-reduction organization Hope Alliance NWI, was leaving a meeting with GPS school officials when the walkout happened. She, too, was impressed by the kids.
“They were using their right to protest. The kids were all respectful, and they proved their point. It was beautiful,” she said.
Munster
Ahead of Munster’s planned walkout on Thursday, administrators and police responded to a social media threat to “shoot up the school.”
Around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, police received word of the threat on Snapchat, according to a Munster Police news release. The student who made the threat was identified and arrested at his home. Police said he was taken to the Lake County Juvenile Detention Center ahead of a scheduled magistrate hearing.
Before the threat, Munster administrators offered students the opportunity to protest indoors — at either the high school fieldhouse or the middle school cafeteria.
At least 30 kids left school grounds to demonstrate in front of the nearby Munster branch of the Lake County Library on Calumet Avenue before proceeding to the Ridge Road intersection.
Carrying signs reading “You can’t love the culture but not the people,” “History is screaming — Listen!” and “ICE puts lettuce and tomatoes on their tacos” while songs like Bad Bunny’s “EoO” played on a portable speaker, students chanted and celebrated supportive honks from passing vehicles. A student who didn’t wish to be named said they exited the high school on the east side since the doors closest to the library were locked.
Parents were on hand to supervise, though some had called their kids out of school due to the social media threats. One parent shared screenshots of the threat along with other racist messages — including a drawing of a Klansman — sent to students at the high school.
School Town of Munster Superintendent Matthew Hicks said in an emailed statement that it is unknown, at this point, whether the threat was related to the demonstration.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the high school was placed on Secure status during the school day,” Hicks said. “Under Secure status, students and staff remain inside the building while classroom instruction continues as normal. Additional police officers were present on campus as a precautionary safety measure.”
Hicks said the indoor walkout plan was designed to “ensure student safety” and minimize the disruption to instructional time, which has been used in the past.
“Any student who violated school rules, including leaving campus without authorization, is being addressed in accordance with the Munster High School Student Handbook,” Hicks said. “Due to student privacy, the district does not comment on individual disciplinary matters.”
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune; freelance reporter Michelle L. Quinn contributed.
