ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Dozens of T.C. Roberson High School students took to Long Shoals Road today to protest ICE, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
The walkout took place around 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 17 as students, many of whom carried homemade signs and national flags, marched a mile and a half from T.C. Roberson High School to the intersection of Long Shoals Road and Schenck Parkway.
As they marched, the students joined in rallying cries like “No justice, no peace, no racist police,” and “F– ICE! F– Trump!”
Garrison Barker, a sophomore at T.C. Roberson, carried an American flag. Barker said that the protest was organized around the ideals of American freedom.
“There’s a secret police in our country and we don’t feel safe,” Barker said. “We want to live. We want to be free. But we’re not allowed to, for choices that we can’t make. We can’t live our lives the way we want to in a country where that’s the one thing we have against everybody else.”
Barker estimated that between 150-200 T.C. Roberson students had joined the walkout.
Another sophomore, Jose Hernandes, called for the abolishment of ICE.
“We are out here to protest for the abolishment of ICE and all the wrong that they’re doing in this country,” Hernandes said. “No one is illegal on stolen land. Nobody.”
As the students stood on the corner outside Biltmore Park, passing cars honked and waved in support.
Two 9th grade students, Lesly and Felicity, held a Mexican flag together.
“We’re protesting against ICE, ’cause this isn’t right,” Lesly said.
While most of the students remained on the street corner during the protest, a few groups split from the pack, continuing into Biltmore Park or attempting to enter a CVS Pharmacy, though under the eye of nearby police officers.
However, the bulk of the walkout remained on the sidewalk. One student handed out pins with the phrase “ICE OUT” stamped on them.
The protest is the latest student walkout in recent weeks, following a protest at Asheville High School on Jan. 30.
