ENCINITAS — Students at San Dieguito Academy in Encinitas walked out of school on Friday during a national strike against Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as protests continue across the country against the actions and operations of federal agents.
Hundreds of SDA students left campus midday and marched along Santa Fe Drive and around the perimeter of the campus to share their support for immigrant families and demand that ICE stop using violence against civilians.
Students held signs stating “no human is illegal,” “abolish ICE,” and “fight ignorance, not immigrants.”
“Our entire country is built on immigrants, and they’re trying to expel us from the area,” said SDA senior AJ Angulo. “It’s not okay how they’re treating them.”
The walkout took place during a nationwide strike on Friday, which called for “no work, no school, no shopping” in response to the deaths of Minneapolis residents Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
Good, a mother of three, was fatally shot by federal agents on Jan. 7 during an encounter in which authorities said she was attempting to drive away as agents ordered her to exit her vehicle.
On Jan. 24, agents fatally shot Pretti, an ICU nurse, after he attempted to help up a woman who had been pushed to the ground by federal agents. Video of the incident, widely circulated on social media and television, shows Pretti being tackled to the ground and then shot multiple times after agents removed a gun from his back waistband.
Media outlets and bystanders have also reported incidents of agents smashing car windows, beatings, deploying pepper spray and less-lethal rounds, and entering people’s homes without warrants.
SDA junior Salo Diaz said it was important to participate in the walkout because her own family has been harassed by ICE.
“I’m just doing this because I don’t think it’s very fair that half my family has to worry about coming home,” said SDA junior Salo Diaz. “It’s difficult to wake up in the morning. It’s difficult to do anything.”
Other students said they are afraid their friends will be detained by ICE.
Immigration arrests in the United States have ramped up dramatically in the past year, including in San Diego County, with Department of Homeland Security officials stating that they are targeting violent criminals who are in the country illegally.
However, a growing number of residents in the North County community and beyond say ICE is making their communities less safe, as federal agents detain both undocumented residents and legal citizens, including families and those with no criminal history.
“They are reporting legal citizens to fill their quota. It is absolutely absurd,” said student Livia Gray. “This country is supposed to be free.”
At one point, the crowd of SDA students filled both sides of the road beneath the Interstate 5 freeway overpass, earning honks of support from passing cars.
SDA officials said in an email to the school community that while they support students’ First Amendment rights, they did not sponsor or endorse the walkout. Students who choose to leave campus may be marked truant, the school said.
School staff also monitored the event to ensure student safety.
“As we reflect on national events that continue to shape the conversations within our hallways, the San Dieguito Union High School District remains committed to a culture of safety, learning, and mutual respect. We recognize that our students are deeply engaged with the world around them and often feel a call to civic action,” interim principal Kelly Gilbert said.
