Carrying whistles, Mexican flags and signs with creative slogans, David Douglas High School students took to the Southeast Portland streets Friday in a walkout against Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

David Douglas High School is one of Oregon’s largest schools, where more than a third of students identify as Latino. The school’s Latino Student Union led the walkout, which included students from Fir Ridge, the nearby alternative high school.

Adults and community members supported the students, wearing safety vests to help guide traffic along the route. The march stopped near East Portland’s Mill City Park before students headed back to campus.

For several students, Friday’s walkout was their first time participating in a protest.

“We are supporting our people against ICE,” student Heisy said.

David Douglas school board member Thomas Stephenson joined the protest and held a sign that read “people are not illegal.”

“Lots of families are scared to go to school, take the kids to school, kids are coming home from school and their parents aren’t there,” Stephenson said.

“I’m hoping that these students, our future voters, our future leaders, that they’ll be able to – even though they can’t vote, they’re out here making a point,” he continued.

“Enough is enough; this is a horrible way to treat people.”

Protest actions against federal immigration actions have occurred nearly weekly in schools across the United States, especially after the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Numerous schools in Oregon took part last week, as part of the nationwide general strike and walkout. The flyer for Friday’s walkout noted that students will not be punished for participating.

The actions taken by federal immigration officers in Portland have hit close to home for students like Valeria. As the walkout stopped in front of a Lutheran church, she shared her brother’s story.

“He grew up here, he played football here, he got his job here, he started to create a family here,” she said. “But just because he came here illegally, they say — I was there the day he got detained... and all I could ask was why?”

The walkout occurred just hours before U.S. Rep Maxine Dexter, whose district includes David Douglas schools, announced she had secured the release of the Crespo-Gonzalez family, who spent three weeks in immigration detention in Texas. The Gresham family’s 7-year-old is in second grade in the nearby Reynolds School District.

This was the first time Noah, another David Douglas student, participated in a walkout.

“I don’t know if we’ll make a change, but I really hope we do,” Noah said.

Carrying a Mexican flag in one hand and a sign reading, “Hot people melt ICE” in the other, Matilda said she was happy to see so many of her classmates coming together for a common cause.

“I’m out here to support my family, my friends, my neighbors,” she said. “I’m here to speak up for people who can’t.”

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/02/06/student-protests-ice-federal-immigration-enforcement-portland/