About 200 students Venice High School students join walkout to protest federal immigration policies

VENICE, LOS ANGELES (KABC) — About 200 high school students staged a protest in Venice Tuesday afternoon against federal immigration enforcement policies.

The protest began at about 12:35 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

An hour after the demonstration began no arrests had been reported, according to the watch commander at the LAPD’s Pacific station, who said officers were monitoring the march and making sure the protesters remained safe.

Video from AIR7 showed the demonstrators walking down the street, some carrying signs with protest slogans.

“Some of our students participated in a student-led walkout today regarding recent immigration enforcement and students were blocking traffic in the surrounding area,” a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Unified School District said in a statement provided to ABC7. “We respect and support the right of our students to advocate for causes that are important to them. However, we are concerned for student safety in these protests when they leave campus.”

The demonstration later moved out of the street as students gathered in front of the school.

The group later gathered near the intersection of Venice Boulevard and Beethoven Street, not far from the high school at 13000 Venice Blvd.

City News Service contributed to this report.