Over 200 Liberty High students walkout to protest ICE

Liberty High School in the East Renton Highlands is one of the latest schools across Renton, King County and the country to stage a student-led walkout and protest, where over 200 students left campus and walked nearly 2.5 miles to one of Renton’s busiest intersections.

A little after 9:45 a.m. Feb. 5, the students made their way north on 168th Avenue Southeast toward the main road in the Highlands, holding signs, making chants and playing music in protest of the Trump administration and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, among other reasons.

It was the second Liberty High walkout in six years, where students had previously organized a walkout in support of Black Lives Matter in 2020.

“We’re protesting against ICE and what’s going on in the country,” said Liberty junior Connor Padgett.

While the vast majority of students (along with one parent and some grandparents) walked, some students drove their cars up and down the road with passengers holding signs out of car windows and sunroofs, honking their horns and making themselves heard.

Photo by Bailey Jo Josie/Sound Publishing

As the large crowd of youth protesters walked, Issaquah School District vehicles could be seen parked at different intersections along the way, along with other local agencies.

The protesters made their way to Northeast 4th Street and Duvall Avenue Northeast, one of the Highlands’ busiest intersections. Once there, the students filled the sidewalks and continued their protesting. Senior Alex Nemirovsky was one of the most vocal of the crowd as he spoke with a megaphone while standing through the sunroof of a car.

“I just feel really passionate about, you know, just being human man. The big thing that we’re here for, is we’re arguing for humanity,” Nemirovsky told the Renton Reporter. “It’s probably the craziest thing that anybody has ever had to argue for. Look at everybody here. Look at these people, they’re literally arguing for their friends not to be taken from their homes.”

Nemirovsky was wearing a blue hat resembling the one worn by 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, who was detained by ICE agents on Jan. 20 in Minnesota, during the protest. He said that he did not want the Liberty protest to “be a quiet thing.”

“I want people to be loud. I want people to show that they’re angry because that’s what’s important here. It’s being angry and showing that to such a regime,” Nemirovsky said of the current presidential administration. “It feels like Trump and his little MAGA stans, they’re out there just taking people willy-nilly as a part of a political agenda. It’s crazy that this is just okay, so we’re out here, we’re showing that hey, this is not okay. We’re doing something about it.”

Other students at Liberty shared their views of the walkout and protest, with sophomore Vanessa Castaneda saying that these walkouts are a way to raise awareness and make people think about what’s happening in the country.

Photo by Bailey Jo Josie/Sound Publishing

“Obviously, children won’t be able to shut down ICE single-handedly, but by providing this awareness, we can communicate to our governments, to adults, to people that have more power, that it’s not something that we’re okay with, and that something has to be done and hopefully we could even lead to some changes,” said Castaneda.

Shylo Fultz, a sophomore, said that she protested for those who are unable to themselves.

“I chose to participate because I know that there’s someone somewhere out there, a person that wants to protest, but can’t because they’re fearing for their safety,” said Fultz, adding that the message is that cruelty and violence will not be tolerated. “Also, I made the decision that […] this is a cliche, but you can’t battle hate with hate. Like, all my friends and me, we’re going to go out there and just try to be peaceful and get our message across.”

Sophomore Remy Cowan hopes the protest has influenced people.

“I want them to understand that there are so many parallels between this administration and how it’s going, and the Nazism of the 1930s and 1940s,” said Cowan. “Gestapo secret police is so much like ICE. The only difference is that in the United States, we really have our voice and although plenty of people will get persecuted for that, we have a way to speak up against them. So, if you have that privilege, you should use it.”

Liberty student Alexis Phung contributed to this report.