March 31: U.S. Student Walk Outs Against New Immigration Law

March 31: U.S. Student Walk Outs Against New Immigration Law

Friday, March 31, 2006

A roundup of news reports on student opposition to H.R. 4437 (The Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hr_4437


Newburgh, New York - Over 100 students today walked out of Newburgh Free Academy in a show of protest over the proposed immigration bill in Congress. Police shepherded students down South Street. Several of the students in the crowd carried Mexican flags.

(Times Herald-Record)


Lynnwood, Washington - Several dozen students walked out of Lynnwood High School Friday and went to Lynnwood's city hall, demanding to meet the mayor. Instead, they got an appointment to meet with him next week. Lynnwood students say they were inspired by walkouts and protests in Los Angeles and Texas, and since they are the future of America, their voices should be heard.

(KOMO)


Watsonville, California - About 50 Rolling Hills students gathered at the edge of the City Plaza, waving Mexican flags and shouting "Mexico" and "Si se puede." Some said they had walked out of classes and others said they didn't bother to go to school. Adults also attended the demonstration.

"We ran from school, from our teachers," said sixth-grader Rosee Va, 11. "Our teachers were telling us to go back, but we didn't. We just kept running for our country."

"Friday school doesn't mean anything to me," Va said.

(Santa Cruz Sentinel)


San Diego, California - A 6,000 strong march of mostly students culminated a week of student walkouts. There were 3 girls from Hoover high arrested early in the morning, and 3 more arrests were made at 25th and Imperial.

(deletetheborder.org)

- A San Diego school district spokesman said about 1,100 students didn't show up for classes Friday, the fifth day that students skipped classes.

In North County, about 34,000 students couldn't go to school even if they wanted to Friday because classes were cancelled. Administrators decided to shut down schools in the Vista Unified School District and middle schools and high schools in Oceanside High School because of threatened violence.

No walkouts were reported in the Escondido Unified School District, which Superintendent Edward Nelson credited to open forums held by school administrators, teachers and the students.

(San Diego Union Tribune)

- California Highway Patrol officers closed one entrance to the Coronado Bridge to prevent students from blocking traffic on the span over San Diego Bay.

(Associated Press)


Los Angeles, California - Belmont High School students walked out.

A few small protests took place in Los Angeles and about 15 truancy citations were issued, authorities said. About 100 demonstrators gathered briefly in a light rain outside City Hall in Los Angeles, where protests had been promoted for various locations in postings on a popular Internet site.

Cardinal Roger Mahony, head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, an immigrant rights activist, on Thursday urged students to honor Chavez's legacy by staying in school. "In my opinion, student boycotts of school and other activities on our streets do not produce meaningful immigration reform," said Mahony.

(Associated Press)


Bakersfield, California - About 1,000 students marched. Six were suspended for arguing with police and security guards, said John Teves, spokesman for the Kern High School District.

(Associated Press)


Fresno, California - About 50 middle school students walked out but were rounded up and taken to a truancy center, said police spokesman Jeff Cardinale.

(Associated Press)


Mountain View, California - More than 60 students from Los Altos High School left the campus at lunchtime and marched to City Hall in downtown Mountain View carrying banners against immigration bill HR 4437.

(San Jose Mercury News)


San Jose, California - At Piedmont Hills High School, about 20 students out of 2,200 walked around campus protesting for about half an hour, then administrators ushered them to class.

(San Jose Mercury News)


Tucson, Arizona - About 900 to 1,000 middle school students and another 300 high school students walked out of classes Friday as demonstrations opposing tougher legislation against illegal immigrants continued here for a third straight day. But Tucson Unified School District officials also instituted a so-called "hard lockdown" at several of the schools where students had walked out, meaning that remaining students will stay in their classrooms, with campus perimeters also secured. Officials held open the possibility of placing more schools under lockdown, depending on reports of student activity. They also said that there would be disciplinary consequences for students now leaving classrooms without permission.

(Associated Press)


Tyler, Texas - About 100 students walked out of classes at a Tyler high school today to protest a proposed congressional crackdown on illegal immigrants. The students walked out of John Tyler High School and walked a few miles to the Smith County Courthouse square downtown.
(KLTV)


San Antonio and Converse, Texas- At least 60 high school students in the Judson Independent School District walked out of school Friday in support of allowing Mexican immigrants to remain in the United States.

Students from Judson High School’s two campuses and some students from Wagner High School participated, leaving school when the morning bell rang. The students walked to Roosevelt High School, in the North East Independent School District, and stood across the street waving Mexican flags and chanting “Si se puede” – it can be done.

(San Antonio Express )


Haltom City, Texas - About 150 students Friday marched in opposition to proposed changes in the nation’s immigration laws. It was the fifth consecutive day that North Texas students had marched to voice their opinion. On Friday morning, the students mostly from the Birdville school district marched through the city as patrol cars followed them.

(Fort Worth Star Telegram)


Lufkin, Texas - Hundreds of Lufkin High School students walked out of class.

(KTRE)


Austin, Texas - For the second day in a row, Austin-area high school students walked out of class and marched in protest of immigration reform. About 75 students walked out of class and began their march toward the State Capitol. Austin police provided an escort for them. Once they arrived, they stood on the capitol steps chanting slogans for equality and speaking out in turn. The demonstration was peaceful but vocal.

Round Rock ISD students protested again Friday but this time it wasn't a walkout. School administrators say most of the students who participated never arrived to school in the morning. Instead, they congregated nearby and met up at Stony Point High School where they started their march. They marched west under Interstate 35, but the walkout fizzled at Memorial Park. That's where police gave the students an ultimatum: either return to school or be arrested. About 100 students followed the officers' request and arrived at Round Rock High School where a processing area was set up at the high school gymnasium. All the students were cited for violating daytime curfew and face a fine of up to $275.

About 100 students in Bastrop also walked out of class to protest, but not before school leaders did what they could to keep students from leaving. They offered to help students organize a protest outside school hours, but the students refused. They marched to the Bastrop Courthouse. School buses picked them up from there and returned them to class.

(KVUE)


El Paso, Texas - San Jacinto Plaza in Downtown El Paso filled with about 2,500 protesters Friday morning, about half of whom were excited students from area high schools and at least one middle school; the other half adults, including elderly farmworkers, elected officials and veterans from the Chicano rights movement. Several schools throughout El Paso resorted to lockdowns as a way of preventing students from participating in the third straight day of protests.

(El Paso Times)