HRVHS students hold school walkout, join community protest over ICE

Student organizers Rowan McKenna, Gillian Reed, Natalia Ventura and Sofia Rodriguez Estrada delivered speeches in English and Spanish before leading peers in bilingual chants, including “Somos Inmigrantes;” “We stand with you, we stand together;” and “ICE out!” 

Several individuals carried “Somos Inmigrantes” signs, standing in solidarity with Riverside Community Church’s growing immigrant-support campaign, which began last March and continues to demonstrate weekly, as previously reported by Columbia Gorge News.  

McKenna is the leader and founder of a group  called the Gorge Youth Movement, which aims to “empower students to take action around the Gorge,” she said. “I began figuring out ways I could exercise my political power and my voice, and I wanted to get other kids doing that. Now is more important than ever for us to come together, and it’s on all of us to protect those in our community being terrorized by ICE.”

In her speech, Gorge Youth Movement officer Reed spotlighted the death of Renee Good, who was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on Jan. 7, as reported by Columbia Gorge News.

“When federal agents storm into our community and take our friends, family, and neighbors, it affects us all,” Reed said. “Today, we can honor Renee’s legacy and the legacy of everyone the government is trying to make disappear. Your action can’t end here, and all of us have to continue speaking up for those who are unable to fight for themselves.”

Ventura, club president of Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA), which works to empower and celebrate Hispanic culture and tradition, thanked students for making their voices heard. “We don’t all have the same stories and experiences, but we’re choosing to stand together anyway,” Ventura said. “So let this remind us that community is strength, that support is powerful, and that even though things feel inhuman or unfair, we can still choose humanity.”

Estrada described the demonstration as a response to failure rather than an act of disruption, criticizing the federal government for its destructive immigration enforcement practices, which have instilled fear in Latino students and spurred attendance drops.

“ICE agents are not only detaining people who entered this country without documentation — they are detaining hard-working immigrants, parents, neighbors, and community members who make America a better place to live,” she said. “People who work in our orchards, our restaurants, our schools, and our homes. People who contribute every day and ask only for safety and dignity.”

Hood River County School District Director of Communications Stephanie Hoppe explained how safety is the priority for staff when confronted with student walkouts, especially considering the dangerous nature of nearby roadways, which are curvy and narrow.

“The student leader who is organizing will work with the administrative team, and they’ll talk about what they’re hoping to achieve,” she said. “Ultimately, students will decide if they’re doing it, but it’s not something that our administrative team would necessarily support, because it is part of an instructional day.”

To address safety concerns, Friday morning’s walkout remained entirely on school grounds, but a second demonstration commenced outside Mercado Guadalajara later that afternoon.

A smaller crowd, roughly 50 individuals, around half of whom were HRVHS students, lined the sidewalk on 12th Street, waving signs and Mexican flags, while dancing and cheering to music and passing honks.