Hundreds of San Antonio ISD students walked out of classes Wednesday afternoon and protested in front of San Antonio City Hall to voice anger over the Trump administration’s attacks on civil rights.
The students amassed in front of City Hall carried signs with messages such as “Abolish ICE,” “No human is illegal on stolen land” and “My empathy didn’t radicalize me. You did!!!” Joined by local activists, teachers, parents and City Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, they listened as speakers on the building’s steps railed against the Trump administration’s demonization of immigrants.
“In my eyes, in so many people’s eyes, you are Americans,” SAISD student Wheatley Ollison, 17, said of the undocumented immigrants targeted for deportation by the White House. “You deserve to be here.”
Students and at least one teacher who spoke blasted Trump’s executive order allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to conduct raids at schools. They also decried the president’s continued efforts to erase transgender and nonbinary people.
“It’s important for us to keep showing up and hitting the street. That’s how we show our power,” San Antonio activist Jessica Solis, 31, told the group before announcing another protest against the White House’s policies scheduled for 4 p.m. this Saturday at Pica Pica Plaza, 910 SE Military Drive.
After the speeches, 16-year-old protest organizer Frida Renovato gathered students and activists together for a photo on the steps of City Hall.
“We are the future,” she told them through a megaphone to loud cheers. “We won’t be silenced.”
