Federal Way students protest ICE in walkouts

Hundreds of students led a peaceful demonstration on Feb. 5 from Federal Way High School and another on Feb. 6 from Decatur High School.

Students from both schools ended their protests at the intersection of Pacific Highway South and South 320th Street, at least a mile away from both schools.

This is the same corner where a weekly protest is held every Sunday from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. hosted by the South End Friends for Peace and Justice.

The high schoolers’ protests focused on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and represented a multitude of cultures and identities with a consistent message of solidarity against the immigration crackdown led by the federal government.

Federal Way police were present to support the safety of the students. While officers spoke to students on a few incidents where they were hanging out of windows from cars as they drove past the protesters, the department confirmed with the Mirror later that there were no issues “of note.”

Students from Federal Way High School came to the Federal Way City Council meeting two days before the first walkout and asked the city leaders what they were planning to do to protect students and their families from ICE.

Mayor Jim Ferrell told the Mirror after that meeting that “I don’t think that any high school student has been harmed [by ICE] in any way.”

Ferrell stated that he is not aware of any excessive force by ICE agents except when “people are interjecting themselves into actual ICE actions,” explaining that “that’s where I think the danger was. That’s where the violence is coming from, where people are injecting themselves into that.”

Ferrell then confirmed again that he is unaware of any instance in which ICE has inflicted violence on anyone who is not “interjecting into their activities,” and added that, “I do not want to comment on the national ICE thing … the city of Federal Way does not need to weigh in on this issue.”

Federal Way includes one of the most diverse zip codes in the country. Students in Federal Way Public Schools have ties all over the world, representing over 100-plus languages spoken at home.

During the protest on Feb. 5, several Federal Way students said this issue is affecting them personally.

“My friend, not too long ago, she said that ICE was in her neighborhood. She got deported,” Autumn Jackson told the Mirror, who was accompanied by her mother, Misty Jackson-Shell, at the protest.

Jackson explained that her friend had lived with her aunt who was also deported, and that she found out what happened from her friend’s grandmother.

ICE did not respond to a media request from the Mirror to confirm that there have been operations conducted within the city limits.

“I feel like the idea of ICE isn’t such a bad thing, with criminals and stuff like that, but the way that they’re handling it is bad,” Jackson said.

She wanted to join the protest because “I feel like the younger people should also be able to speak up, since we will eventually be the leaders of the world, and I feel like we should start shaping the world now to make it a better place.”

Jackson-Shell told the Mirror she is proud of her daughter and the other students, saying “they are taking a stand, they’re utilizing their voices to try to enact change in our local community. And on a broader level, they’re paying attention to the issues that they’re going to be inheriting.”

Other students told the Mirror that while the increased levels of immigration enforcement have not impacted their lives personally, they feel an obligation to speak up for those who don’t have a voice, and that if it can happen in other places in the country, it could happen in Federal Way.

Ahead of the walkout, the school district sent an email to families informing them that “we have been made aware of possible student led walkouts in our district at middle and high schools that are being discussed on social media and in our community,” and stated that “Federal Way Public Schools and our schools are not planning, organizing or approving these walkouts. These events are student-initiated and student-led and is not school-sponsored activities.”

The district also clarified that “as a public school district, we are required to balance students’ rights with our responsibility to maintain order and protect the rights of others. Peaceful student expression is protected by law, which limits the district’s ability to prohibit it.”

Council comments

“When the people we serve are living with fear, silence from leadership is not neutral,” said Council President Martin Moore regarding ICE and immigration at the council retreat on Jan. 24. “Silence communicates something. It can communicate that their concerns don’t matter, that we’re willing to look away when things get uncomfortable. It’s just not okay because even if we cannot dictate federal enforcement actions, we still have a responsibility to lead locally and respond to the impact here at home.”

This retreat was held the same day as Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse, was killed by an ICE agent during a protest in Minnesota, sparking even more protests across the country.

“No one’s looking away, but we’re not going to pretend or grandstand that we have a say in this. These are federal matters. State law dictates this and we’ve explained that,” Ferrell said in response to Moore’s comments that day.

Moore said he has seen some pushback for his direct support of the student walkouts, especially due to his role as a substitute teacher for the district.

He and council members Lydia Assefa-Dawson and Les Sessoms have made comments noting their concerns about the behavior of ICE agents and the indiscriminate nature of arrests, detainments, deportations and uses of force that have been a focus of national conversation especially in recent months.