On February 9th, Charlottesville High School students departed from campus at 1:30pm to protest ICE activity across the United States. Marching for over two hours, and from the school’s campus all the way to IX Art Park, students led chants, held signs, and banded together against this agency’s efforts.
“I went to the walkout because I was in support of it, but also because my parents are immigrants, and I wanted to support that movement for them, too,” Mira Figueroa said, CHS sophomore and walkout participant.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, typically known as ICE, was created in 2003 under George W. Bush’s administration. This enforcement agency focuses on the removal and detention of undocumented immigrants living in the United States. After Donald J. Trump’s reelection in November of 2024, his immigration policy provided very large amounts of funding for this agency– all stemming from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was later passed in July 2025.
Starting back in January of 2025, ICE began carrying out raids on cities that were densely populated with immigrants. They began with sanctuary cities–cities that limit interaction with federal immigration authorities–such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York City. Thousands of immigrants were detained and deported, separating families and disrupting communities.
Large scale ICE-raids overtook Minneapolis beginning in December of 2025. Minneapolis is a city whose jurisdiction does not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. Thus, The Operation Metro Surge campaign, which was started in late 2025 by ICE and Customs and Border Protection, took to the city’s occupants. This led to high profile, public arrests that turned into brutal violence and forceful separation quickly.
In the month of January, two Minneapolis residents were killed by ICE’s efforts to deport undocumented immigrants. 37 year-old Renee Good was shot on January 7th in her car by ICE agent Jonathan Ross. This sparked protests all over the country, with over 1,000 events occurring nationwide on January 10th and 11th, according to NPR News.
Seventeen days later, Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse participating in a protest against Operation Metro Surge, was shot by ICE agents while attempting to aid a woman who appeared injured. They were later identified as Jesus Ochoa and Raymundo Gutierrez, Border Patrol Agent and Customs and Border Protection officer. Rallies and vigils continued to occur across the United States, asking for justice and transparency for Pretti.
About a month following Good and Pretti’s deaths, hundreds of CHS students gathered at the top of the baseball field for an Anti-Ice walkout. As they made the 2.3 mile trek to IX Art Park with handmade signs and leading chants, they were recognized by local news stations such as NBC 29 and Cville Right Now.
“I think the walkout we took definitely made an impact in our community,” said Figueroa. “We didn’t have as much media coverage as maybe the other ones, but it inspired other schools to do the same.”
A few days after the walkout at Charlottesville High School occurred, Albemarle High School also held an Anti-ICE walkout of their own on February 13th. Hundreds of students marched from campus to Stonefield, and gathered onto the pedestrian bridge on Route 29.
“I think that it was just important, so we could spread the message, and then we saw other people in our community supporting us, ” Figueroa said.
As of late February 2026, ICE is still active and present in Minneapolis. Minneapolis City Council member Jason Chavez told CBS News “We’re still asking our neighbors to be vigilant. We’re still asking neighbors to support our neighbors, and ICE is still here and we’re just developing next steps.”
Student voices have risen as a result of the activity in Minneapolis, and all over the world. As the uncertainty and violence continues, local political action such as February 9th’s walkout shows that geographical distance does not mean detachment.
