By: Ari Binyam (’28)
Across the United States, some have expressed outrage over the actions of the federal law enforcement agency known as ICE, which stands for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE began operating in 2003 along with the Department of Homeland Security as part of the Homeland Security Act, which was passed by Congress in response to the 9/11 attacks. According to ICE itself, their mission is to “protect America through criminal investigations and enforcing immigration laws to preserve national security and public safety.” Since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, ICE has become the most funded federal law enforcement agency in the country with an $85 billion budget, and has deported over 2.5 million individuals, with 605,000 being through direct deportation and 1.9 million through encouraged self-deportation. In 2026 alone, there have been six deaths at ICE detention centers and two fatal public shootings by ICE agents. Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, two American-born citizens, were killed by ICE agents on January 7 and January 24 in Minneapolis, Minnesota amidst their attempts to stand up for and help those targeted by ICE through action and voice. These deaths have been covered extensively across various news networks and social media, and have prompted many Minnesotans and Americans to speak out against the injustices of ICE.
As a result, on Friday, February 6th, high school students throughout the state and Baltimore County organized school walkouts to protest ICE. Different student-led organizations worked with their school administrators to organize these walkouts, and some officials within the schools ensured that students would not be penalized for missing classes as long as they safely followed school guidelines. However, according to a Baltimore County Public Schools statement on Friday evening, “students who left school grounds were in violation of school policy. As a result of these actions, temporary road closures were necessary. One student was arrested during today’s demonstrations, which were not school or system sanctioned.”
Adding to the confusion, earlier that day, Baltimore County Schools announced that all schools would be closing early due to inclement weather. Some people took to social media and criticized this decision, claiming that the county was attempting silencing students and prevent the walkouts because they did not close early when previously weather-related events occurred, such as students slipping on ice due to the lack of snow-free sidewalks. On the contrary, Representative Nino Mangione criticized the protests themselves, stating that Maryland schools should have never given permission for them to occur and schools should not be a place for unruliness and political argument.
These protests have sparked questions about the moral position that schools occupy throughout the state, especially because Maryland and the greater Baltimore area is filled with diverse and unique communities that are actively being targeted by ICE and the Trump administration. The pushback of those both for and against the cause has led to dissent throughout the state over what should have happened at these walkouts, with extremes of both racist and insensitive statements and baseless accusations of racism. ICE’s actions have caused conflict and uproar, affecting spaces across our city and country.
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