Truckee High Students Join National Walkout Protesting Immigration Enforcement
Following weeks of intensified national attention surrounding federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota, Truckee High School students joined the country in the national shutdown on Jan. 30 by participating in a walkout in protest of Operation Metro Surge.
The operation was deployed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security with the stated purpose of apprehending undocumented immigrants and deporting them. Instead, the surge has resulted in the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal agents, harassment and detention of U.S. citizens, thousands of arrests, many of whom claim to have been denied due process, and a general terrorizing of the Twin Cities.
As the nation processed these events, fear became even more prominent in the Truckee community. On Jan. 27, Superintendent Kirsten Kramer sent an email to Tahoe Truckee Unified School District families acknowledging potential immigration activity on campuses and how the district would handle it, sparking conversations among Truckee High students about how they could voice their opinions.
Almost immediately following that email, word spread of a national shutdown calling for no work and no school. The “no school” aspect proved difficult for many students, who risked possible truancy. Instead, local students took matters into their own hands.
An Instagram account created under the name @truckee._walkout announced that students who wanted to “stand for justice against ICE practices and defend human rights” should exit class at the beginning of third period for a peaceful walkout. Randy Garcia, a senior committed to Pitzer College, was the driving force behind the account and event planning.
“It felt very empowering to organize the event, especially seeing the outcome,” said Garcia. “I felt the need for us, as youth of Truckee, to come out and make a statement — not only to show our Hispanic community that they are not alone, but also to make it clear that violence should not be tolerated in our country and that everyone deserves basic human rights.”
Walkouts also took place at North Tahoe School and Alder Creek Middle School, with students protesting outside on campus then returning to class, and reports of up to 50 North Tahoe High School students who left school to go to Kings Beach or Truckee protests, according to TTUSD administration.
Garcia, along with others in the Truckee High student body, made posters prior addressing ICE and the current government.
When the clock struck 10:50 a.m. on Friday, Truckee High students got up from their seats and, instead of heading to their next classes, walked toward the exit doors. Together, over 250 students made for the front of La Bamba, the Mexican restaurant across the street, careful to stay off school property, to stand for what they believe in.
Alian Gomez was one of the senior boys leading the charge. When he marched outside the school alongside Garcia and her friends, he says he knew they were making their mark. He shared the driving reason for his decision to skip third period: “I was trying to send a message, and that was that immigrants work very hard daily, and we aren’t criminals. All we seek are better opportunities and a better life for our families.”
The group of students marched and chanted as they made their way down Donner Pass Road toward Safeway. Gomez led the crowd with his crew, blasting music from a speaker and repeating the chant, “No justice, no peace — get ICE off our streets,” with hundreds of students following behind. When they reached Safeway, students surrounded the Gateway intersection with chants and cheers that brought many people to tears.
Community members drove by giving thumbs up and honking repeatedly, others waved flags representing both Mexico and the United States from their car windows, and even younger students from Truckee Elementary passed by smiling.
“The atmosphere was one of the best parts,” Gomez said. “It was very beautiful to see everyone get together and fight for what’s right.”
At the end of the day, Garcia, filled with emotion, shared her hopes moving forward.
“My goal is to fight against current ICE practices, because no human being deserves to die simply for expressing their beliefs or for looking a certain way,” she said. “No one deserves to live day by day in fear that something bad will happen to them or their loved ones. As youth, we must come together and stand up for what is right, even when we have different views, because if we don’t stand up for change, then who will?”
~ Lola Barta is a Truckee High School senior.
