Tucsonans protest ICE, mark 1st year of Trump’s 2nd term

Chants and cheers rang out Tuesday afternoon from the football stadium of Tucson Magnet High School.

Hundreds of students walked out of class and carried signs expressing their opposition to the immigration policies imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration.

Several shouted “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here” as they circled the school, marched down 4th Avenue and trailed west on Congress Street. 

Hundreds more people of all ages amassed Downtown outside of the Federal Building at the corner of Congress Street and Granada Avenue, in which immigration court is held and several federal law enforcement agencies have their offices. Many banged pots and pans together and waved signs and flags, espousing the same messages as the students. 

The protests were organized to mark the first full year of Trump’s second term.

Tucson High senior Julina Hart stood with a small group of protesting classmates on the sidewalk near the football field, where hundreds of other students gathered before their march.

She said Tucson High was one of many Southern Arizona high schools that had planned mass walkouts that afternoon. It was difficult to be on the cusp of adulthood, she said, at such a tumultuous time in the United States

She said her own great aunt was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement several months ago, and her family hasn’t heard from her since.

“They know exactly who they’re targeting,” she said. “They don’t care whether you’re legal or documented.”

Luis Campos, an immigration attorney and volunteer for immigrant rights nonprofit Coalición de Derechos Humanos, said numerous protests and meetings were planned throughout the week to mobilize members of the public. He’d come to Tucson High to see what was happening there and planned to join other protestors on Congress Street later.

“This government will do whatever it wants, law or no law,” he said. “The rule of law, in immigration spaces, is dead.”

In the 1960s and ‘70s, Campos said, sociopolitical movements were led by the youth. Campos had been concerned over the past year that Tucson’s young people had become apathetic and politically withdrawn. 

“This is fantastic. I’ve been waiting for the young people to turn out,” he said of the protest. “These kids need to question authority. That’s how it should be.”

Eugenia Woods, wearing a flatbill hat that read, “Fuck ICE,” and a necklace that spelled, “Peace,” had a list of issues she was concerned about. “We’re not afraid to stand and be counted.”

Among Woods’ grievances were mass deportations and excessive force by ICE agents, she said, and they also included Trump’s campaign to annex Greenland and the economic ramifications of the tariffs he enacted.

“I think a lot of us are feeling exasperated and helpless in the context of Trump’s isolating policies,” she said. “People are looking for ways to participate in our democracy.”

Karma Voth and Ella Payne, both seniors at University High School, said they came to the Federal Building protest in response to the abuse they’d seen perpetuated by ICE agents via social media.

“I want to come out here and enforce change where I can,” Payne said.

Voth said most of her family lives in Minnesota, and she’s heard from them about the chaos caused by ICE’s presence in the state.

“There are parents who are waiting outside schools to make sure their kids are safe,” she said. “And these are elementary schools.”

Other students walked out of Sunnyside High School, and other TUSD schools. Administrators from both districts had reminded students before the protest that walking out would be an unexcused absence. Educators explained that their responsibility for student safety means they can’t encourage leaving campus.

The crowd lined both sides of the street for about two blocks Downtown, with some standing on the median that splits Broadway and Congress Street. A small group of Tucson Police Department community service officers circulated in the crowd, cautioning people to remain out of the roadway.

One contingent of about 50 students, some riding in cars while waving signs and others striding down one lane of the street, made their way past the rest of the demonstration and headed west on Congress, underneath Interstate 10 and walked west for blocks. Other students joined the 500 or so protesters along the sides of the street.

“No ICE, no KKK, no fascist USA,” many of them chanted. 

“Fuck ICE,” was a recurring chant among both the students and adults at the protest.

Police closed the westbound lanes of Congress at Church Avenue for about 15 minutes after the students passed through. Small groups of motorcycle officers were stationed at several corners a block or so away from the protest — some of them blocked traffic for a few minutes to keep cars from heading west where that students were walking. At the sides of the ramps leading to I-10, Department of Public Safety SUVs were parked in pairs, with lights flashing.

As the small group of students continued west across the bridge over the Santa Cruz River, some of them peeled off to walk the two blocks back to the protest.

“They don’t know where they’re going; they just said they’re gonna keep walking,” one young woman said.

Campos said Tucson is uniquely situated because of its proximity to the border, previous efforts to become a sanctuary city and high number of immigrants, and that could make it a target of the federal government within the next year.

“If we can make it a disciplined and organized operation, we’ll be ready for anything that comes for Tucson,” he said.