Current Events: Community Voices Speak about ICE Protests

Trump administration changes and policies cause students and community members to express their observations. 

Featured Image: @kapturedbykronic/Instagram

By: Annalissa Lira and Anex Estrada 

The Current Context

Due to President Trump’s executive orders regarding mass deportations, immigrant students fear they may be deported or harassed by ICE agents in school. Attendance rates have dropped due to the possibility of ICE agents entering campuses.

Visalia Unified School District has a clear policy that protects students from immigration enforcement while they are at school. The district does not collect or share information about students’ immigration status and does not allow immigration enforcement officers on campus without a valid judicial warrant.

Additionally, staff are trained to handle requests from immigration officers, ensuring that students’ rights are protected. Schools are meant to be safe spaces for learning, and the district has procedures in place to keep students and their families informed of their rights.

New federal policies allows agents to enter hospitals, churches, and schools, which used to be considered places of sanctuary.

Community Reaction

On Sunday, February 2nd, a local protest here in Visalia on the sidewalk of Mooney and Caldwell was organized and had many attendants.

Local protestors brought signs, noise makers, flags, and drums, and even had support from the local car community who cruised down Mooney to ensure the safety of the protestors.

Bumpy Muñoz, a local tattoo artist who attended the February 2nd demonstration, says, “What I saw was generations of Indigenous youth [and] elders coming together for one central cause. That was to bring awareness against mass deportations and awareness of our culture and what it means to us.”

Muñoz says, “The significance of that was that our people have been raising our voices for hundreds of years on this central issue of immigration and migration. What we have seen was people continuing, generations down the line, continuing to raise their voices.”

Muñoz ended with “Viva La Lucha,” a saying that translates to, “Long Live The Fight,” which is a statement commonly used amongst protestors recently.

Natalie Mora, a local activist who attended the protest, said, “The protest helped give the immigrant community a voice. It gave a voice to those who feel they do not have one. Mooney is a busy area, so all the cars going by saw us out there.”

Mora said, “I believe a lot of our immigrant workers have done so much for this country, they have broken their backs, and for them to be treated this way in the country they work so hard for is just horrible.”

Priscilla Dominguez, ‘25, who also attended the Mooney and Caldwell protest, said, “It was super good energy. It reminded me that we all need to have each other’s backs. There were some negative people, but I love that no one paid attention to them and was happy to attend the protest.”

In the city of Los Angeles, students have organized school walkout demonstrations through social media. This has led to dangerous things happening to students, even one involving a student getting stabbed during a demonstration by an antagonist.

According to a Fox 11 Los Angeles news report by Gina Silva, “A peaceful protest took a dark turn when a fight broke out, culminating in the stabbing of a 17-year-old student on February 7th, 2025.”

Fox 11 Los Angeles digital team further reports as of February 12th, 2025, “a 14-year-old boy was taken into custody, booked on suspicion of attempted murder. A witness who shot video of the attack said the alleged attacker was not a part of the demonstration and was antagonizing the crowd.”

Visalia Unified School District has stood in solidarity with its immigrant community, providing resources and support. They have made several statements about not complying with ICE. Redwood High School’s Principal, Dr. Brandon Gridiron had the following to say.

“Student Safety is priority number one. So regardless of whats going on currently and the climate of our nation, our kids are impacted by it. So first and foremost, them being informed and understanding what’s going on, making informed decisions is extremely important because it is a part of the educational process,” says Dr. Gridiron.

Dr. Gridiron says, “There is a very distinct line that is drawn when a person’s freedom of speech infringes on someone else’s rights to be left alone or to be in a safe environment. That is where I draw the line.

“If someone’s freedom of speech infringes on your right to be able to come to school, and not have to worry about racial slurs, discriminatory comments, or disrespectful statements, it doesn’t matter what the statement is whether it is opposition or for a particular position. That is outside of our policy of a school,” says Dr. Gridiron.

“You as a student have the right to come to school and not be harassed for your opinions or thoughts,” says Dr. Gridiron.

Tags: community, culture, current events, news, opinion, Redwood, redwood gigantea, redwood high school, redwood journalism, redwood opinion, redwood rangers, rhs, rhs opinion, visalia ca