Dozens of Austin public school students gathered downtown to protest the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement on their Presidents Day holiday.
Outside City Hall Monday, students railed against Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s presence in Minneapolis after the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti and the agency's recent activity in Austin. The demonstration came after students across Central Texas have walked out of schools to protest the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, prompting criticism from Texas lawmakers.
Jacob Saldaña, a senior at Bowie High School, urged the crowd outside City Hall to keep demonstrating in spite of recent criticism from the state's governor and attorney general.
"Education and advocacy make a difference. What's happening around the country shapes how our friends and classmates live," Saldaña said. "The least we can do is acknowledge it, learn about it and stand by them. That is not politics; that is being human."
Attorney General Ken Paxton, without evidence, accused Austin ISD of coordinating with students in a walkout late last month and opened up an investigation into the district's alleged involvement. The district has denied any collaboration, saying teachers, police and administrators were following along with students to keep them safe. AISD tweaked that policy in light of the criticism and an uptick in walkouts.
Saldaña, whose family has been in Austin for nearly 140 years, said it was heartening to see students of all colors "actually take a stand" in support of Austin's Latino community. He said he hopes other students across Central Texas continue to speak out — and walk out.
"We speak up for those who can't speak up with us. We speak up for those who stand with us, and we want to bring change," he said. "We want to bring good change to the world."
Paxton announced on Monday he was launching investigations into three other school districts' walkouts, including one in Manor ISD.
Following the rally at City Hall, the group of roughly 50 protesters marched down Congress Avenue to the Texas Capitol.
En route to the Capitol, Dezaree Walker, a second-year teacher who is Black and Latina, said she has had students and families "up and disappear" over the last few months. But Walker said the recent crackdown on immigration has led to her students being more engaged as a result. She said her students are too young to protest, let alone vote, so they have been writing letters and making phone calls to members of Congress to oppose federal immigration policies.
"You can see the gears in their head moving whenever they hear me talking about these things," she said. "They realize they're not alone — and that there's a reason for them to be take to take school more seriously. Because ... we get to exercise our First Amendment right."
