Despite ICE terror: Youth refuse to be intimidated

From Jersey City, New Jersey, to Chicago to Los Angeles, from big urban cities to small rural towns, young people are taking to the streets to voice their opposition to the invasion of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) thugs. And there are good reasons for the walkouts, marches and rallies carried out especially by high school students.

The first reason is that the parents or other relatives of many of the students migrated from countries in the Global South. Their parents are the main targets of ICE whether at home, on the job, shopping, etc. The young people have become traumatized with fright and worry about whether their parents will be coming home after school or if they have been kidnapped by ICE.  

Many of these high schools have majority populations of youth of color, many of whom are students from migrant communities.

Another reason is that ICE has illegally stormed into high schools to attack and detain students they suspect as being “illegal.”  These attacks have angered other students who see ICE goons target their classmates and friends.  Some students have been beaten and tear gassed. Since the start of Trump’s second administration, ICE has kidnapped over 3,800 children.

But none of these ICE threats and assaults have deterred students from exercising their right to protest. The sight of students carrying signs saying “F—k ICE!” and “ICE out of our communities!” has ignited broader community support and activism among people of all ages and nationalities. 

As long as ICE forces their presence into schools and communities, young people have shown that they will respond with resistance and fight back on behalf of their targeted classmates despite  any fear and trepidation they may have for themselves. While this is the last thing that President Trump and the Department of Homeland Security want to see, it is a phenomenon they cannot control.

Workers World salutes the heroism and bravery of these young people, who are setting an extraordinary example to millions of people with their message of unity and solidarity in the face of naked terrorism.