Students Protest Against ICE At Kennedy

Photo by Khanh Do | Kennedy and Walters students rally up at the intersection.

Over January and February 2026, John F. Kennedy High School students organized and rallied during two protests. The first protest was the Nationwide Shutdown day on Jan. 30th, in which a portion of Kennedy students joined schools across the nation to strike and protest. The second was on the Friday after that, February 6th. The alarmingly increased activity of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) across the nation fueled the initiatives of these protests.

Arthur Nechayev (11) remarked, “When I was stepping out there, I saw everyone had a passion for protesting. Everyone knew what was happening, and as a community, that we needed to stop it.”

The National Shutdown spread throughout social media during the beginning of the week of January 30th. Many students repost the news on their stories, sharing the event with many of their peers. Enough traction was made for the FUSD superintendent, Zack Larsen, to send out an announcement that informed families that FUSD schools will remain opened on the day of, and middle school and high school students all possess “one excused absence per school year for participation in a civic or political event, provided the school is notified in advance.”

The walk-out protest began during Titan Up time, as many students gathered at the Boone Dr and Blacow Rd intersection. One crowd stood on the sidewalk of the school, one crowd stood in the median between the two opposing lanes, and one crowd stood on the opposite sidewalk. The students chanted loudly and repeatedly to oppose ICE activities, and raised hand-made signs with messages condemning the government agency. School administrators and teachers stayed on campus but oversaw the peaceful protest from afar. A portion of students left after Titan Up ended to go to their second block.

Prisca Gutierrez Nunez (12) said, “It’s really sad, but also, like, a happy moment. Happy moment, because we're all together doing our protest. Sad, because it came to a point when we needed to say something and speak about it.”

During Lunch, the masses gathered at the Blacow Rd and Stevenson Blvd intersection. The crowd grew in numbers as words of the protest during Titan Up spread, and students from Walters Middle School joined in. The presence of signs, chants, and spirit only increased in volume.

Ethan Foust (12) described, “My friends and I taped papers saying stuff like ‘Abolish ICE’ and ‘Peace and love’ on our friend's car. During lunch, we drove laps around the protest area, honking the horn, and had lots of fun.”

The second protest occurred during Titan Up and Lunch as well. This time, the protest started in the quad with students gathering around student speakers, prominently seniors, with a microphone, delivering inspirational words. During lunch, a crowd gathered at the Blacow Rd and Stevenson Blvd intersection once again. Although there are less people than the previous protest, the spirit and passion of the student protesters are larger than ever.

“[During] the first protest, a lot of people were also making excuses to skip class. But the second protest seemed [to have] like genuine people that actually want to protest,” commented Gutierrez Nunez.