Story By: Isabela Koebel

Video By: Andrew Sweet

Photos By: Ailani Cota

On February 6th, 2026, students from Thurgood Marshall joined John Muir, Pasadena High School, and Blair pupils to walk out of school lunch to protest recent activity by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Posters, music, and chanting students led the way down to Pasadena City Hall.

The student organizer from Marshall, who asked to stay anonymous, spread the word through Instagram posts as well as word of mouth. They didn’t do it alone, though.

“There were people from Muir and PHS who had an existing framework who had already started coming up with this idea to have a walkout. So, I reached out to those organizers and we had a group chat,” said the Marshall student organizer.

Last year, another walkout was held, unifying PUSD for the same cause. This year’s walkout organizer wasn’t involved in the planning of the earlier one, but says that the prior year could’ve had a positive impact on student turnout.

“I think last year’s walkout definitely influenced the participation of this one in a positive direction. There were some people who were scared there may be outside instigators who would make things violent, or that the police would be antagonistic of us. But I think that the level to which last year’s walkout was safe and well organized and really powerful in number definitely helped influence this year’s,” said the organizer.

The marchers were led by a truck containing a band playing music, which later became the podium for speakers once the protesters reached Pasadena City Hall.

“Myself and other student organizers spoke up on the truck. Essentially, as a call to action, calling for the resignation of Pasadena police chief Gene Harris because the Pasadena Police Department assisted ICE in stalking and detaining Jose Madera, the director of the Pasadena Job Center,” said the Marshall walkout organizer. “I also talked about how Keith Porter Jr., who was an Angeleno, was murdered by ICE on New Year’s Eve, and calling out ICE as an unchecked Gestapo force of the president to terrorize communities,” the Marshall student organizer said.

Students began trickling out upon reaching City Hall, but the march out of school “doesn’t exist in a vacuum,” according to the organizer.

“Every protest, every walkout has an impact because it contributes to the level of public outcry. The worst possible thing we can do as students, when witnessing a turn to fascism, is remaining silent,” said the organizer. “This walkout came amidst two weeks straight of almost every day or every other day, a different group of high schools walking out across LA county, resulting in thousands and thousands of students walking out in totality,” the student said.