Noon. The bell rings, indicating the end of lunch. PPCHS students gather at the River of Grass Auditorium, chanting and waving signs.

“Say no to ICE! Say no to ICE!”

For the past nine months, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been partnering with the Pembroke Pines Police Department (PPPD) to arrest illegal immigrants in the area. Their contract allows agents to interrogate anyone they feel may be in the United States illegally and arrest them without a warrant.

On Feb. 6, PPCHS students united in protest against ICE’s presence in Pembroke Pines and in the country overall, having deported around 500,000 people as of mid-Jan. 2025. Evidence of racial profiling and reports of ICE presence around Pines inspired the protest. The recent shootings of Minnesota’s Renée Nicole Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of ICE agents further spurred the students’ walkout.

Students began at the River of Grass and moved towards the football field, where Channel 7 News would fly helicopters and drones to film footage of the walkout. Some brought speakers to play music, and others marched with signs that read, “Fight ignorance, not immigrants” and “Prison without due process is a concentration camp”. One student, PPCHS senior Mariana Rios, led the protest with a megaphone and the Colombian flag on her back.

At the football field, students from all grade levels joined to protest against ICE crackdowns across the nation. One student, junior Seth Yosef, walked out in honor of his family.

“I don’t like bringing it up because I hate false equivalencies, but my entire family passed away in the Holocaust,” he says. “I know what that looks like, and I firmly believe in never again.”

The protesters continued chanting and waving their signs as they walked through the field. Helicopters from Channel 7 News flew overhead, filming the students’ walkout. The protest lasted for around an hour on the field, and some students returned to the River of Grass steps to resume the protest. 

I feel like us coming together as a community [made] my heart feel full,” says junior Sophia Alan, who joined the protest at the River of Grass after B lunch. “Even the people who were scared [showed up]. It was just so great to see the rest of our peers, myself, and my friends get together to fight for what’s right.”

Throughout the week, students ensured the protest would have a significant turnout, despite fears of disciplinary action. On Feb. 4, two days before the protest, the administration emailed students outlining their respect for protesters’ dedication, but reminded them not to leave campus and stay safe if they choose to walk out. Later, the school forwarded a letter from the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE), which emphasized that “Any conduct… that diverts students from instruction… warrants disciplinary action.” The letter was sent throughout the state after other school protests sparked; read it here. 

“While [the] walkout was entirely student-led and was not organized or facilitated by the school administration, I was deeply impressed by the civil and orderly fashion in which our students conducted themselves,” PPCHS Principal Peter Bayer says. “It is a testament to our student body’s maturity that they were able to express their views with such poise and respect for the school environment.”

At around 1:00 pm, most students returned to class. Though the protest had ended, students were adamant about fighting for immigrants across the US, and felt uplifted by the protest’s success. 

Once the final bell rang and students poured out of campus, a group at the Southwest Regional Library began another protest. Senior Jaden Lewis, who spearheaded the protest, held a megaphone and chanted, “When I say ICE, you say OUT!” Students joined the protest, shouting in support.

Lewis explains, “I hope… that ICE stops terrorizing families, children, and pulling children out of school just because of their background, and sending parents [away] because that’s pulling apart families for no reason. We should just let everybody be… and let them live in America–it’s a free country.”

Senior Aiden Oscar, who recently committed to Florida A&M University (FAMU), organized the in-school protest. Despite risks of disciplinary action, Oscar remained determined to stand up against ICE’s presence in Pembroke Pines and across the nation. He hoped that protesters would be exposed to injustice around them and encouraged students to continue to protest and speak up against ICE.

“All in all, I’m very proud and thankful for everyone who came out… To see the school unite together for one cause was amazing because nobody in this school has experienced a protest,” Oscar says.

In the time since the protest, students have felt empowered, strong, and a part of something bigger than themselves: a nationwide fight against ICE violence. The PPCHS walkout didn’t end at school; it continued through the grit and bravery of Pembroke Pines Charter students, sparking a wave of protest and advocacy across the state.