Hundreds of Champlin Park Students Protest ICE in Walkout

Hundreds of students walked out of Champlin Park High School on Thursday to protest the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“We have students who came to school today with their families incomplete — people across this country and across this state who have no idea where their families, their parents or their siblings or their loved ones are, and it’s sickening,” said Fowziya Komad, one of the student organizers of the protest. “We’re not going to stand for this, and we’re not going to be a generation that’s silent while our families and neighbors are treated as disposable.”

District officials estimate that 400 of the 3,000 students at the high school took part in the protest, which the organizers called a “peace walk.”

“No one should be afraid of what’s going to happen next,” said Joko Dokie, another student organizer. “No family, no kid should have to wonder ‘oh, am I going to be able to see my family the next day? That should not happen. So as students, we came all together.”

Students left the school just after 1 p.m. and marched down 109th Avenue, standing out and chanting with signs for about an hour.

Amid the immigration enforcement operation dubbed “Operation Metro Surge,” ICE agents shot a man in Minneapolis the night before the protest. It’s the second high-profile shooting incident that’s occurred since the beginning of Operation Metro Surge.

Meanwhile, agents detained a parent at a bus stop in the Robbinsdale Area School District on Jan. 14.

District officials estimate that 400 of the 3,000 students at Champlin Park High School took part in the protest, which the organizers called a “Peace Walk.”

Students Across Metro Take Part in Protests

The protest was one of several to occur this week across the metro.

Students at Jackson Middle School hosted a similar walkout on Tuesday.

“While the school district or school staff does not promote or authorize student walkouts or protests, students do have a protected right to freedom of speech as long as that speech does not disrupt the educational process,” wrote Champlin Park Principal Mike George in a message to families. “Earlier today, I made an all-school announcement reminding our students of the attendance, behavioral and academic expectations if they chose to voluntarily participate in the student-organized ‘Peace Walk.’ Students were informed they would be marked as unverified for their class, and that they are responsible for the academic work they missed.”

Students at Maple Grove High School also recently held a walkout.

Champlin Park High School

Brooklyn Park