Chattahoochee High School walkout protests ICE

Students at Chattahoochee High School organize peaceful walkout

Photo by Ana Michel

Everett Baumann, Editor-in-Chief, Allen Liu, Copy Editor, & Scarlet Baumann, Staff Writer

Today, dozens of students at Chattahoochee High School participated in a peaceful walkout in protest of the actions and policies of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). Students brandished banners and used megaphones to chant slogans such as "Hey hey, ho ho, ICE has got to go" and "No hate, no wall, sanctuary for all" on their way toward the intersection of State Bridge and Jones Bridge Road, where the protest's energy reached its height. 

The demonstration occurred amid boiling tensions nationwide regarding immigration enforcement in the United States. In recent years, ICE has exponentially expanded its operations, recording a historic 120% increase in manpower from 10,000 officers and agents to nearly 22,000 in less than a year. In the same time span, the agency has risen to become the highest-funded U.S. law enforcement agency with an annual budget of $85 billion dollars, a 14-fold increase from 2016.

Critics raise concerns about the agency's methodologies, including reports of aggressive or harmful behavior towards immigrant communities that could put families at risk of ostracization. Proponents of ICE argue that the agency is justified in its actions as the sole arbiter and enforcer of federal immigration law.

A major point of contention is the policies implemented during the administration of President Donald Trump, whose nine executive orders regarding immigration emphasized stricter border security and heightened domestic enforcement. The administration stated that these measures' intention is to reduce illegal immigration, prevent criminal activity, and limit drug trafficking across borders. On the other hand, critics vocalize growing concerns regarding family separations, detention conditions, and the broader impact of detrimental rhetoric against immigrant communities. 

Recent national attention centers upon two widely covered incidents involving ICE. On Jan. 7, 2026, ICE agent Jonathan David Ross shot and killed Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen in Minneapolis. Law enforcement officials described the shooting as a matter of self-defense. On the contrary, video analyses raise questions about whether the use of force was necessary. On Thursday, ICE detained 5-year-old Minnesota boy Liam Ramos and his father, Adrian Ramos. Columbia Heights Public Schools superintendent Zena Stenvik described Liam's detention as "bait" to see if anyone else was home.

Fueled by these recent developments in ICE's behavior, Chattahoochee High School Senior Kobe Chernushin assisted with the organization and spread word of a peaceful walkout protest through an Instagram post on the account @chatto.makeachange. The protest at Chattahoochee follows a week of similar student-led protests at other Metro Atlanta high schools, such as Duluth High School, Lakeside High School, and Grayson High School.

"Overnight, we were able to get almost 400 likes on the Instagram post that started this,” Chernushin said. “We're sending a message to people that even though we are in a privileged area, we're still diverse, and the people in our community are worth protecting.”

The effectiveness of student-led protests and grassroots activism is continuously contested. While walkouts and demonstrations do not directly result in policy changes, they have historically played a role in encouraging dialogue and deliberation. According to participating students, the walkout's intention was to raise awareness about how unbridled immigration enforcement might affect families and communities, especially peers within the school district.

"We wanted to cause disruption. Peaceful disruption,” Chattahoochee Senior Ryan Threats said. “We all left the school peacefully, and we all just came out here to do a very peaceful protest. That creates disruption. That creates people staring at us. Eyes on us.”

While the protest was student-led, organizers also sought guidance from more experienced activists to ensure the demonstration remained organized and peaceful. In this pursuit, student leaders reached out to Iman Gadalla, a 25-year-old organizer at the Party for Socialism and Liberation, who provided advice on proper and effective protest practices.

"I came out here today because [the organizers] reached out, wanting to create a walkout, to stand up for fellow students. So we wanted to come with resources. We wanted to come with our organizing experience and help build your political conscience up," Gadalla said.

For many students who participated in the walkout, behind the signs and the blaring megaphones lie deeply personal experiences with immigration enforcement. Several protestors said they have family members or close relatives who are immigrants, some of whom have had direct encounters with ICE and have even been deported. Chattahoochee High School senior Angela Kong speaks to her own family's trials and tribulations with ICE.

"Recently, my uncle got taken by ICE. So this really hit home. We didn't know how he was doing for weeks. Seeing that there are innocent U.S. citizens dying over this, that's just not okay. And as the new generation, I just felt like we needed to protest this," Kong said.

Others shared stories of relatives who avoided public spaces or interactions with authorities due to fear of deportation. Students noted that these fears made the issue of immigration feel immediate and personal rather than political particularly for First-generation immigrant sons and daughters raised on the shoulders of their parents and the sacrifices they made to provide them with opportunity. 

Flying above one protestor's Mexican flag was a banner that acknowledged those very sacrifices while encapsulating the overall mood of the day.

"My parents fought for my future. Now I fight for theirs."