On Friday, hundreds of public school students across Texas staged walkouts in response to a national movement protesting immigration enforcement. This wave of protests follows the tragic deaths of two American citizens at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis earlier this year.
Students from cities including Austin, Waco, and San Antonio carried signs and distributed flyers as they walked out of their classrooms. In Austin, a significant group made their way toward the state Capitol along Congress Avenue, gathering for a protest scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Local officers from the Austin Independent School District monitored the situation closely.
Governor Greg Abbott expressed his disapproval of the Austin walkout and the involvement of school officers in a social media post later that evening. He instructed the Texas Education Commissioner to investigate, asserting that school resources should not be utilized for political protests. “Austin ISD receives taxpayer funds to teach state-required subjects, not to facilitate student walkouts,” Abbott stated.
The New Braunfels Independent School District confirmed the occurrence of walkouts at its schools, warning that participating students would be marked absent and face disciplinary action for any disruptions or safety concerns.
In addition to high school students, several hundred individuals from the University of Texas at Austin joined the protests, converging with the high school students and other demonstrators already present at the Capitol.
During the rally, speakers, many advocating for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), condemned the federal officers responsible for the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both 37-year-old residents of Minneapolis. Good was killed on January 7 while attempting to flee from ICE agents, while Pretti was shot by a Border Patrol officer on January 24 during a protest, as he assisted a civilian.
Calls for investigations into Pretti’s death have emerged from several Republican figures, including Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Representative Michael McCaul.
Although early in the protest, at least two individuals were detained by Department of Public Safety officers on Capitol grounds, the majority of the demonstration proceeded without incident as protesters marched through downtown Austin.
Maya Escamilla, a student at Austin Community College, participated in her first rally at the Capitol. Motivated by her family’s concerns regarding ICE, she expressed the urgency of the situation. “After witnessing one alarming incident after another, it’s simply getting out of control. This transcends politics and is fundamentally about morals,” Escamilla remarked.
UT Austin professor Zenzi Griffin joined the protesters, carrying a sign depicting ICE as “new slave patrols.” Griffin described the Trump administration’s immigration policies as a critical issue among numerous societal concerns. “I can’t remain passive; it’s time to take action,” she said. “While a few protesters have lost their lives, countless others die in detention, and families are being torn apart. This isn’t the first time the U.S. government has targeted people in this manner.”
The protests were part of the “National Shutdown” movement, which garnered support from hundreds of organizations, including various Texas groups such as the North Texas Area Labor Federation and the Southeast Texas Impact Initiative.
