Lincoln students unite to protest ICE activity
In support of Roosevelt High and North Portland, targets of federal enforcement
by Hana Fares and Curtis Beaubrun of the Lincoln High School Cardinal Times
On Tuesday, Dec. 16, over 100 Lincoln students gathered in the commons at 1:55 p.m. for a walkout ending at Portland City Hall. Organized by Lincoln students, the walkout protested Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s increased activity in the Portland metro area.
Sophomore Jasmine Hamilton was inspired to organize the walkout to advocate for the many who are afraid to speak out.
“I know that there are people around the country and in Portland who are afraid to speak up for themselves and others in fear that they’ll be targeted by ICE as well,” said Hamilton. “I want to be an advocate for those who can’t speak up for
themselves.”
Hamilton wanted to bring attention to ICE activity.
“I wanted to raise awareness around this situation while telling the federal government that we, as students, care and will not let our communities be terrorized,” said Hamilton.
A Lincoln student, whom the Cardinal Times is not naming, is afraid that more of their family will be racially profiled and targeted by ICE.
“My grandpa was deported. This was a while ago, but it still hurts,” said the student. “[It scares me] knowing that anyone in my family can be easily deported just off the way we look.”
Although Hamilton originally intended the walkout to only be Lincoln students, she was glad to see it spread to other Portland high schools, with some students joining Lincoln at Portland City Hall, and others protesting closer to their schools.
At Lincoln, there hasn’t been a significant presence of ICE. At Roosevelt High School, however, there has been, making students at Roosevelt feel especially passionate about participating in the walkout, given that ICE agents have been targeting North Portland, especially around Roosevelt due to its majority Hispanic population.
Roosevelt Junior Kaiya Batson said that in this school year, Roosevelt has had three lockouts to protect its students from ICE. Families in their community have been targeted, and students are afraid.
“[ICE] has been circling my school and the three elementary schools that are near my school,” said Batson. “[Hispanic students] risk the threat of being outside of my school, then being racially profiled, and getting abducted or questioned by ICE.”
Batson was proud of how many Roosevelt students marched up and down North Lombard Street to support those in danger of being targeted by ICE.
“We all decided as a community that it is more important to take a stance … because of how threatening our day-to-day lives are at Roosevelt,” said Batson. “Around 30-40 other people stood around in that circle and were just yelling chants back and forth… that shape is very unifying, especially in such a hard time.”
The anonymous student also felt supported by the number of people who attended the walkout.
“Knowing that there were other people also joining us who aren’t even a part of our community… felt really nice,” said the student.
In a time when there is fear in our community, Hamilton emphasizes the importance of speaking out.
“In a crowd of silence, you will hear that one voice, and that’s how things change. That’s how we build community, and that’s how we build safety for those who need it. That’s how we fight for the people who are being oppressed,” said Hamilton.
Originally published in The Cardinal Times on Feb. 4.
Perhaps there are students at Lincoln and other high schools that see it differently. They believe that immigration policy is a federal matter and that the state interfering in it by sanctuary policies is what has gotten us into the situation we are now facing here in Oregon. Perhaps there are students who believe that people should enter our country legally and that we will welcome them. Perhaps they would recognize that those who enter illegally are often exploited by employers who use them for cheap labor or even criminal activities, holding their illegal status over them as a way of manipulating them. I wonder why we don't hear from those students.