For their protection, students will not be identified by name in this article.

On Wednesday, February 4th, hundreds of students attended walkouts across all Ann Arbor Public High Schools. The protests were organized after recent local actions of the federal government and U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Ypsilanti sparked widespread outrage among students. 

At Skyline, the walkout featured multiple student speakers. “People have been arrested and sent to horrid detainment centers without due process,” said one speaker. “Homes, public buildings, and even schools have been entered by ICE agents without a judicial warrant for the purpose of unleashing havoc on immigrant communities.”

After initial remarks, protesters completed a lap around the school. Many held up homemade signs, with popular phrases including “No one is illegal on stolen land” and “Melt ICE.” 

The walkout began at 12:40 PM, but many students expressed frustration afterwards that the Skyline administration cut the protest short and directed students back inside at about 1:20 PM. 

Skyline students also voiced frustration at an administration email sent several days prior to the protest. The email included a list of rules and restrictions for the walkout. See The Skyline Post’s breaking news story on this event for more details.

Q: What are your thoughts on the organized walk-out on February 4th?

“I think that all the AAPS high schools coming together to organize a walk-out was so impressive. What does that say if high school students are organizing walk-outs/protests? I am walking out with our school, it is important to be a united front against what is happening in America right now.”

“I’m walking out to show I care for these people, they are not illegal in my eyes. How I see it, everyone is equal, we bleed the same color, we feel the same human emotions, and we. are. human.”

“Though I feel there might not be a tangible result of this walkout, it is still necessary to express my condemnation and utilize my first amendment right.”

“I am going to attend the walkout, but I feel like it’s becoming less about the cause and more about making plans for leaving school. We need to remember that this is a serious issue, and we are protesting for all those who can’t.”

“I will be walking out on February 4th. I think it’s beautiful how as a school we can all stand up together for what we believe in. We know what’s right and wrong and if nobody stands up against ICE who will?”

“I hate what ICE has been doing and fully support student protest of what is happening, it is a way for us to share our voice and beliefs in a time when it is getting increasingly hard to do so.”

“The walk out is a good idea but between the sanitized expectations from the administration and the performative nature common in teens these days I think this will be a quickly forgotten symbolic gesture.”

Q: What are your feelings about the recent ICE news and arrests in Ypsilanti and/or nationally? 

“When I first learned about what was happening in Ypsilanti it really made me realize how real it was. Hearing stuff on the news is one thing, but seeing the words “ICE” and “Ypsilanti” in the same news story really makes you realize that this isn’t just something that is happening in one specific area. We’ve become so desensitized to watching people get shot and hearing people’s horror stories on the news that it doesn’t faze most people anymore. But seeing it show up in your community, at your bus stops, it should send a shock to everyone.”

“I think the arrests [ICE] made in Ypsi by targeting school buses was a sick and disgusting tactic. Schools in Ypsi had to change their bus routes, [and] I see buses still driving kids home around 4:30-5pm because of these changed routes.”

“I am personally scared that my immigrant mother will be deported even though she has a green card… If she gets deported, my brother and I will be left in the U.S alone because we do not have a father.”

“ICE horrifies me…I fear for the families of the people deported and shot, and I fear that my family in Minneapolis, who are extremely against ICE and would do anything to help others, will no longer be safe in their city, on their streets, or even in their house. I even fear for the people I know here, in Michigan.”

“I’m scared for the people in [my neighborhood]. Most who live there are Hispanic and can’t even speak proper English. I hope ICE doesn’t take them away. Even my [neighbors are] not American and I would hate for them to be taken, they are the most sweet people.”

“I think that ICE arrests in general should not be happening at all. They’re only motivated by the fear mongering tactics that label all immigrants as criminals and threats to our country.”

“I am against them taking innocent people away from their homes but I’m for them taking away the criminals that are doing horrendous crimes. I walked out for the innocent immigrants that are just trying to live their lives and I think that it’s really sad that ICE has taken some away.”

“I believe recent national events are tragic, and deaths are never justified when no threat is present. However, law enforcement has the right to defend themselves, including using lethal force if necessary, when a government official is directly threatened. I also do not support the riots carried out by civilians, as they target law enforcement and involve the destruction of federal property such as police vehicles and committing graffiti.”

“It breaks my heart seeing people have to live in constant fear all the time, worrying about every moment, every breath they take.”

“This is no longer about politics. It’s about simple human decency… ICE is no longer fighting to protect us, but is using its power and accessibility to silence us. They put no second thought to their actions, to them we are just another hurdle in the way of a further oppressed society.”

“I am scared for everyone including immigrants[.] It seems that ICE is abusing this power to do things like racial profiling and using force against civilians. It reflects dangerous political movements from the past. I am scared for history to repeat itself on innocent people.”

“ICE has no reason to be doing what they’re doing, I understand the concept [of ICE] but it’s to the point where it’s out of hand and wrong.”

“I feel extremely upset and hopeless. Our administration is literally imprisoning innocent people who came to our country with the promise of freedom and choice. People have died during raids, people who didn’t deserve to… My grandparents have a family that helps them clean their house. We got the news a few days ago that they were detained. My family is doing everything that we can to help them and others.”

“I think ICE is just genuinely inhumane… I’m learning about the Holocaust in history class, and the lead up is very, concerningly similar. In Germany, it started out as blaming Jews for economic issues. Remind you of anything? Then they were made fun of, and eventually put in concentration camps, and millions of Jews were killed. And another part of the story is that the main target were the Jews, but there were other people they deemed inferior, so I pose the question: “if they’re taking illegal immigrants now and are targeting people who look a certain way… who’s to say they won’t come for anyone who isn’t white, regardless of their immigration status?”