Byron, K-M students walk out to protest ICE actions

Students in Byron and Kasson-Mantorville walked out of classes Tuesday to protest the activities of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) in Minnesota and throughout the nation.
The Byron protest was organized by Jay, a senior at the high school who did not want their last name revealed.
“I heard about what happened to Renee Good,” Jay said, “and was frustrated by what ICE is doing.”
Good was killed last week in Minneapolis by ICE agents.
After hearing that Rochester students were planning a walkout, Jay wanted to do something similar in Byron. “Immigrants deserve the right to be in our country and not be dehumanized.”
This was the first protest in Byron in a number of years, Jay said, and organizers had no idea how many students would participate. In the end, 55 students took part in the protest, school officials said.
“More than I expected,” Jay said of the number.
Jay said that it was meant to be a peaceful protest, but the students involved wanted to avoid extensive media coverage to protect participants and their families from retaliation. Three of the four students who spoke at the protest, Jay said, were from families of immigrants. Also, even activists who are not immigrants are getting prosecuted, Jay said.
“We had discussed media presence and were worried about it,” Jay said. “Especially with the rise of AI, there was a concern it could generate things that could put the wrong spin on it.”
Right now, Jay said, they do not know if there will be more protests in the future, other than staying engaged and exercising first amendment rights.
“My parents are very supportive, letting me make my own decisions,” Jay said.
There has been some backlash at the school. A counter protest social media account was created, but that protest did not materialize Tuesday.
“I didn’t engage with them,” Jay said. “I didn’t personally receive threats. There’s always a little concern about what are my friends going to think.”
Jay has also been active in other protests, including the No Kings march this past summer, and is active in the Rochester Community Initiative, which is a youth-led non-profit organization of those 14 to 18 years old. Their work is focused on making the community a more just and equitable place for all residents.
Earlier in the day, a group of students from Kasson-Mantorville High School walked out during their lunch break. Eleven students carrying signs protested in front of the main doors of the school before walking down to the intersection. They were speaking out about what ICE is doing, as well as the apathy and lack of empathy they see in the United States.
“I just think the worst thing in our country right now is apathy,” said Kcin Siegele. In the United States, he said, people have the right to peacefully protest and stand up for what they believe in and for those who don’t have the right to protest.
“Lots of people at school are saying we cannot make a difference,” said Makenna Smith. She still believes, she said, that kind of voice still matters.
What the students protesting are doing, Arllo Gall said, is showing the classmates who are afraid that there are students who do support them. Even in a smaller school like K-M, she said there are students who are afraid of what will happen to them or their families.
“It’s crazy to think that people don’t want to let people just raise their families,” she said. “It’s a lack of empathy.”
Like the protest at Byron, there was little reaction to the protesters. One individual drove a pickup truck around the parking lot several times and revved the engine, creating a lot of noise and black smoke when passing by the protestors.
Students at Rochester High Schools also walked out of class Tuesday to protest the actions of ICE; Owatonna High School students planned a walk-out on Wednesday.