Everett High students walk out to protest ICE activity

EVERETT — Over 100 Everett High School students walked out of classes on Tuesday to protest increased immigration enforcement in Snohomish County and across the country.

The students took to the streets shortly before 10 a.m. Tuesday, marching from the downtown high school to the Snohomish County campus, where they gathered to wave signs, make speeches and chant slogans.

Students said their goal was to voice their opposition to the uptick in activity by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, as President Donald Trump has increased immigration enforcement nationwide. After promising to do so before his election, the federal government ramped up deportation efforts, securing billions in funding for thousands of new immigration agents and new detention spaces.

On Tuesday, students said they had seen the effects of the increase in their own community.

“My family and I are horrified to even go out and speak Spanish, so that’s why I’m very passionate about this,” said Cynthia Espinoza, a senior at the high school, while marching toward Broadway with other students.

The protest was also spurred by the Jan. 7 shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good in Minneapolis, students said, a woman who was killed by a federal immigration agent and whose death sparked demonstrations nationwide. Local officials in Minnesota said the shooting was avoidable, while federal officials defended the use of force, The New York Times reported.

Ninth grader Elliot Young said the killing of Good led to a number of students, including those not typically interested in politics, coming out to protest. At the Snohomish County campus, students called for peace, chanting “We want justice, we want peace, we want ICE off our streets.”

“ICE is deporting innocent people, people who are here to be hard workers and are working for their families to build a new life here,” ninth grader Heavenly Powell said while marching to the county campus.

Elliot said the protest was organized through social media.

“People need to be doing more,” Elliot said. “We can’t get anything done sitting around, saying ‘This is bad.’ We’ve got to actually do something against injustice.”

Tenth grader Tyree Elegan said he came out to the walkout to support his Mexican friends, and said the actions ICE have been taking were cruel.

“This is supposed to be a country with freedom, and they don’t feel free,” Elegan said. “They feel like they have to stay at home sometimes, or can’t do stuff they want to do, because they’re scared.”

In a statement Tuesday, Everett Public Schools spokesperson Harmony Weinberg wrote that the district supports students’ rights to freedom of expression while also prioritizing safety and learning. Student-led walkouts are not sponsored by the school or district, she wrote.

“Attendance is handled in accordance with district policy,” Weinberg wrote. “Students who leave class to participate will be marked tardy or absent, depending on how quickly they return to class. Our primary focus is student safety, for students who participate, and for those who continue with their regular school day.”

In 2021 and 2022, students at Everett High School walked out of class to raise awareness to the prevalence of sexual assault. In June 2025, students at Cascade High School also walked out to protest increased immigration enforcement.

Lilliana, an 11th grade student who only provided her first name, led speeches on Tuesday while at the county campus. She danced with Espinoza to huapango music as other students waved a Mexican flag and shared stories of the difficulties their families had gone through to immigrate to the United States.

The message Lilliana said she wanted to send to the people of Everett through the walkout was simple.

“We’re not (expletive) scared of anything,” Lilliana said. “We’re not scared. We’re not scared to show our voices, we’re not scared to speak up.”

Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.