Milwaukee-area high school students held walkouts during school hours Tuesday, as part of nationwide protests against the Trump administration's aggressive ICE operations in Minneapolis and other U.S. cities.
Students from Milwaukee's Rufus King, Riverside, and Reagan high schools participated in the walkouts, along with students from three West Allis high schools.
In West Allis, Lyric Reade helped organize students at Central High School, Nathan Hale High School and James Dottke High School.
"The students are really taking the lead," Reade says. "I think there are a lot of adults that support us, but they’re not ready to take that leap, so we need to make sure that they’re ready to take that leap, and we’re gonna take it for them."
By taking the leap, he means putting something on the line to keep people safe. Reade estimates that over 300 students and some of their families held signs, chanted and marched across West Allis Tuesday. As a trans man, Reade says he is speaking up because he’s familiar with being targeted. He says everyone deserves equal rights.
"The future’s happening now," he says. "If you want to make sure that in the future you can say you were on the right side of history, you need to make sure that you are on the right side of history now — and make sure that you’re speaking out in any way you can."
Sophomore Benjamin Lawrence helped organize the walkout at Reagan High School in Milwaukee. He's concerned about racial profiling by ICE agents who "have the training of mall cops and the weapons of militia," he says.
"The acts of ICE and their agents across America are killing, beating and deporting people purely based on their skin color," he says. "The Trump administration is claiming that the people being beaten, killed and deported are all dangerous criminals, when in reality a majority of those folks are legal and documented."
Lawrence says the only chance people have to stop ICE is through community-based action — it’s a numbers game. Outside of Reagan, close to 300 students marched and chanted around the neighborhood before giving speeches in front of the school.
"You don’t need to be studying at an Ivy [League] school, have a law degree or a PhD to recognize hate crimes," says Reagan student Mario Lechuga. "You just need to have a heart."
Lechuga wasn’t planning on speaking at the protest, but felt he should for those who can’t.
"When I think about having a heart, I think about my mom," he says. "I will be biased here for she is the most selfless person I know."
Lechuga is the proud son of two Mexican immigrants. He says his dad got into an accident at work about a decade ago, leaving him disabled. His mom got a factory job and eventually developed arthritis, affecting her ability to walk. And still, she works everyday to provide for the family.
"When I asked her this morning if she had any suggestions on what I should talk about, she said [in Spanish], 'Tell them we are not criminals, that we come here to work. We pay taxes so we’re not a burden to the country.'"
Throughout the student-led walkouts, passing drivers their horns. Supporters came out of their homes to cheer the students on. Some onlookers disagreed, even getting into exchanges with the students. Others, like Juliana Perez, pulled over and took pictures of the students with tears in her eyes.
"I think we have to be prepared for anything," she said in Spanish. "Let's hope not, but anything can happen, so we have to be more united than ever because unity will always be our strength."
Perez stressed the importance of unity. But, as an immigrant, that doesn’t mean she’s not scared for herself and her students.
"Yes, yes — because we all have our children in schools, and at any moment they can take us away for no reason," she said. "And that's what worries us the most: leaving our children alone."
As a mom, she worries that if she, or another parent is taken, it leaves the children alone. But she’s proud, she says, watching kids make their voices heard and speaking up for people like her.
