High school students across Cleveland walk out on ICE
High school students across Cleveland walk out on ICE
Schools across Cleveland’s Metropolitan School District participated in an anti-ICE rally.
BY BEN MULLIN-VANNESTE | January 23rd, 2026Embedded Files
On Thursday, Jan. 22nd, high school students from nine different schools in the Cleveland Metropolitan School Districts (CMSD) participated in a coordinated protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and in solidarity with other students across the country.
Following the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Wednesday, Jan. 7th of this year by an ICE officer, protests erupted across the country, notably involving high school walkouts. Cleveland students joined this wave today, as hundreds of students poured out of their classrooms and into the streets.
Bekah Lejarde is an educator at John Marshall School of Civic and Business Leadership, where she teaches English as a second language. Over 400 students were estimated to have walked out of classes at John Marshall. Lejarde said she was overwhelmed by the engagement of her students, and she thinks that this experience in civil engagement will give them confidence as they move into a world marked with conflict and in need of powerful and organized voices. Lejarde hopes that her “students feel a little more empowered to use their voice today, than they did yesterday.”
Lejarde says that what happens next is up to our community. We must be the ones who collectivize our action, develop systems of response, and organize our neighborhood.
Cleveland can learn much from its young people. Today, the students asserted their power in a unified demonstration, showing the city and country that students are the ones who drive social change, who inspire us all.
Following the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Wednesday, Jan. 7th of this year by an ICE officer, protests erupted across the country, notably involving high school walkouts. Cleveland students joined this wave today, as hundreds of students poured out of their classrooms and into the streets.
Bekah Lejarde is an educator at John Marshall School of Civic and Business Leadership, where she teaches English as a second language. Over 400 students were estimated to have walked out of classes at John Marshall. Lejarde said she was overwhelmed by the engagement of her students, and she thinks that this experience in civil engagement will give them confidence as they move into a world marked with conflict and in need of powerful and organized voices. Lejarde hopes that her “students feel a little more empowered to use their voice today, than they did yesterday.”
Lejarde says that what happens next is up to our community. We must be the ones who collectivize our action, develop systems of response, and organize our neighborhood.
Cleveland can learn much from its young people. Today, the students asserted their power in a unified demonstration, showing the city and country that students are the ones who drive social change, who inspire us all.
Event Photos by Sampson Parker
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