Not long after the passing time bell rang before homeroom on February 4, students began pouring into the bus loop. Soon, many among the hundreds of protesters began to point out a helicopter flying overhead. The group was being filmed for local television outlets. School staff members stood at a distance from the crowd, supervising the shouting teens as they formed one cluster in the middle of the pavement.

P-CEP students protested as part of a nationwide trend of mistrust of Immigration and Customs Enforcement shown in polls jointly published by The Economist and YouGov.

Word about the walkout spread via Instagram, with various anonymous accounts like P-CEP Barstool and P-CEP Graffiti. Later, a specific account was made for sharing information under the handle of @pcep_ice_walkout. Physical fliers detailing the intent, time and location of the walkout were also found taped to bathroom walls around P-CEP.

“I see students are mobilizing and using their voice across social media,” said Assistant Principal Angel Lett. “And my own personal opinion is there’s nothing wrong with using your voice, but we always just have to be mindful of safety—number one, safety comes first—and making sure that we’re fostering an environment for healthy dialogue.”

Students who attended the walkout received an unexcused absence from homeroom, which came with a call home to their parents.

The walkout’s organizer, a Plymouth senior who chose to remain nameless, said most participants were concerned about the issue.  “We are not doing this to get time out of class. I’ve seen a lot of Facebook posts from parents talking about how kids just want time out of class, and though there may be some students like that out here, most of these kids really care about this cause and are really serious about it.”

Recently, there have been reports of a multitude of student walkouts across the country in protest of ICE, including those held at Community High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Calhoun Middle School in Denton, Texas. The leader of P-CEP’s walkout wanted the Park to participate in the movement as well. “I was inspired by seeing high school students and middle school students all over the country doing this. And I figured, since we have a massive number of students—we have about 7,000 kids here—that we would have a really big turnout if we had [a walkout].”

While the walkout was a protest against ICE’s methods of immigration enforcement, the event was also a call upon the school board to release a statement about ICE’s current actions, explained the organizer. In late January, Ypsilanti Community Schools and Ann Arbor Public Schools made statements regarding ICE to local families.

“I don’t care if [P-CCS] say they are for ICE or against ICE,” the organizer said. “Many schools around us have released statements to families on what to do if ICE comes to their house, and showing their concern, and P-CEP or P-CCS has not done that yet.”

The leader of the walkout passed out small, red cards to the protesting students. The red cards, created by the Immigration Legal Resource Center with English, Spanish and Arabic versions, list constitutional rights related to interactions with immigration agents. The cards were provided to groups like PFLAG, an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, for people to distribute. 

Ollie Tobey, Plymouth sophomore, said ICE activities have impacted acquaintances. “One of my friends, who lives in Minnesota, his father was taken,” said Tobey. “We’re not close, but we’re mutuals on social media, and I learned about how it affected him.” 

Among the hundreds of protesters, some sporting leather jackets and studded denim vests, others wearing the keffiyeh, a patterned scarf symbolizing Palestinian liberation, Canton sophomore Ioannis Liabotis wore a hand-decorated anti-ICE hoodie. 

Liabotis recalled the exact moment he knew he wanted to speak out about ICE. “I saw them hurting my neighbors and hurting the people in my country because of the color of their skin or the place they came from.”

Liabotis said he plans to attend the No Kings rally on March 28. He said he has attended other protests in the past, including multiple protests for women’s rights. 

No Kings is a nonviolent activist organization that has planned multiple protests against the Trump administration. “I attended No Kings last summer, which really opened my eyes,” said Canton senior Archie Runyan.

The circling crowd cycled through chants like “No hate! No fear! Immigrants are welcome here!”  as well as “No more ICE!” and “F*ck ICE!” 

On the outskirts of the crowd, a group of approximately five boys chanted, “Yeah, ICE!” along with, “Trump! Trump!” One laughed and recorded with his phone this reporter’s interview with Salem senior Jack Squashic.

Squashic said that he was at the walkout because he disagreed with the protesters and supported ICE. “If you’re an illegal immigrant, you’re a criminal.” Squashic said that supporting ICE at this walkout seemed fun and that he had “nothing else to do.”

The walkout’s organizer brought up the incidents of eight ICE-related deaths in January 2026, which are detailed in an article by The Guardian. “I feel as though ICE agents need more training,” said the organizer. “They need to be more professional, and they need to be trained better.” 

“We are a district full of immigrants,” the walkout’s leader said. “We’re a small population in a big country, but we are here today to show support for our classmates, for our neighbors, that they are not the only ones here, and that they have support.”