Students walk out across Georgia to protest immigration raids and ICE actions

Students took part in a walkout Tuesday at several Georgia universities and two high schools.

Around 100 students gathered at Georgia State University Library Plaza to protest federal immigration raids and actions by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, according to Georgia Public Broadcasting.

Logan Castillo, a freshman at GSU, told GPB that having a walkout was a great way to engage with the issues and show solidarity.

“I believe that without sufficient pushback from the people organized together that what will happen is they will utilize these forces to go after political enemies, go after anybody that the state deems as an enemy of the state, whether it’s just a political opposition or whatever,” Castillo said.

Walkouts also happened at GSU Perimeter College, Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State University, Towers High School and Lakeside High School.

The walkouts were part of a planned event called Free America Walkout, which concluded with a city-wide rally in Hurt Park.

Between 1,500 to 2,000 Lakeside students participated in the event, according to Decaturish.

Lakeside student Sinnit Siye told Decaturish that some of her friends were scared to participate out of fear that ICE might, but with the number of students participating, they felt safer.

“It just shows how much power there is in numbers because together, we can really do anything,” Siye said. “It just goes to show, together, we have the power to change because we are the future of this country, and when we continue to fight for that change, change will happen.”