Students, teachers walk out as San Francisco joins national protest against ICE

Thousands of students and teachers walked out of classrooms across San Francisco on Thursday and converged at Dolores Park in solidarity with Minnesota, as part of a national day of protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after agents killed two U.S. citizens.

Building on last weekend’s mass mobilization in Minnesota, organizers called for a national shutdown: “No work. No school. No shopping. Stop funding ICE” — an effort aimed at disrupting the economy to pressure Congress. Hundreds of organizations endorsed the action, according to nationalshutdown.org.

Protesters also took to the streets in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Portland and smaller cities including Milwaukee and Oklahoma City. The actions are part of a two-day national mobilization, with additional protests planned across the country Saturday.

Organizers said they are demanding that Congress block funding for ICE.

Scanning the sea of people packed across Dolores Park’s hillsides and pathways, demonstrator Miguel Gavilán Molina, a KPFA radio host, marveled at the diversity of the crowd.

“This tells me we’re not alone anymore,” he said.

Molina said that as a 6-year-old growing up in Sonoma, he watched his father, a farmworker, taken away by soldiers during Operation Wetback in 1959. Thirty-two people have died in ICE detention, he said, but the killing of two white U.S. citizens jolted the nation awake.

“Because they killed two white people, the country woke up,” he said.

In Minnesota, immigration officers fatally shot Renée Good, a poet and mother, and Alex Pretti, a nurse. Both were U.S. citizens.

“Refuse to be silent. Use your privilege not for comfort, but for justice,” said Yari, a junior at Lowell High School, speaking from a makeshift stage atop a truck. “Choose where your money goes.”

Many demonstrators said they attended because immigration is a family issue. Drew School senior Ava, 18, stood arm-in-arm with friends as she explained that her parents immigrated from Vietnam.

“I can’t stand how ICE sows so much fear,” she said. “There’s strength in numbers, and youth have a lot to offer.”

Kody, 17, a junior in high school of Dominican heritage, said his concern was deeply personal. “I don’t want them to take away my grandpa,” he said, as the crowd chanted, “From Minnesota to the Bay, ICE, ICE, go away.”

“We are ready to strike if necessary,” said Nathalie Hrizi, a teacher and vice president of substitutes with United Educators of San Francisco.

Hrizi told the crowd that San Francisco teachers are prepared to strike over their top demand: sanctuary schools and training so educators know how to intervene when ICE appears on campus.

“We will not back down,” she said.

After the rally, the crowd marched to Civic Center, where another demonstration was held.

Meanwhile, dozens of San Francisco businesses shut down in solidarity, from the Mission District to Union Square. Some stores posted signs supporting the protests, while others offered demonstrators free coffee and food, including Reem’s California in the Mission.