More than 100 Manhattan High School students took part in yet another walkout-protest of Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Feb. 13.
According to a headcount by organizer Jordy Sargent, senior, around 180 students gathered to protest on the sidewalk of Poyntz Avenue adjacent to MHS’s front loop at 2 p.m. Protesters did chants and held up signs with anti-ICE and anti-Trump messages.
At 2:30 p.m., the protest became mobile. More than 130 of the students marched down Poyntz to City Park. Once there, over 100 protesters from a Kansas State University protest group joined the mass. Protesters then marched to Manhattan Town Center, before marching back to MHS.
“The main route was decided by K-State’s organizers,” Sargent said. “We just took the most direct route to where their path was.”
Twice as many MHS students participated in this protest compared to the first and only other protest on Jan. 20, which amassed 80-85 people. The climb in numbers was in part due to proactive communication about the event.
“We planned it actually a few weeks in advance, and we got the flyer and the words out on [Feb. 9, via Instagram],” Sargent said. “And then a lot of people came forth wanting to help. We had a really strong team of people aiding in this effort.”
Since the killings of Renee Good on Jan. 7 and Alex Pretti on Jan. 24 at the hands of ICE officers in Minnesota, there have been nationwide protests against ICE. On Jan. 22, President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan told reporters that the US immigration surge in Minnesota will end, according to BBC News.
“It means that the protesting has been working,” Sargent said.
