![\"Mather](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/CTC-L-student-anti-I58946296.jpg\")
Mather High School students Amari Bell, from left, Angelique Guzman and Emina Alikadic organize students from various North Side schools at River Park to rally during an anti-ICE walkout on Feb. 2, 2026. (E. Jason Wambsgans\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\nHundreds of students across Chicago\u2019s North Side walked out of their classrooms Monday in protest of the Trump administration\u2019s continued mass deportation campaign.<\/p>\n
The rally came after a string of actions staged across the Chicago area and country last week amid widespread outrage over the killing of Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse who was shot multiple times after he used his cellphone to record Border Patrol officers conducting an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n
Held just after noon, the walkout saw students from Amundsen High School in Lincoln Square, Mather High School in West Ridge, Northside College Prep in North Park and Roosevelt High School in Albany Park turn out to rally in solidarity with Minnesota and stand against the immigration crackdown.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never felt more proud in my life,\u201d said 16-year-old Amari Bell, who helped organize the walkout.<\/p>\n
Bell, a junior at Mather High, was sitting in her Uptown bedroom last week when she read a news story about Liam Conejo Ramos, a 5-year-old boy who, while arriving home from preschool in Minnesota, was taken by federal agents along with his father to a detention facility in Texas late last month.<\/p>\n
Images of the boy \u2014 wearing a bunny hat and Spider-Man backpack \u2014 being surrounded by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers has sparked even more outcry about the Trump administration\u2019s enforcement in Minnesota. The boy and his father were back in Minneapolis on Sunday after a federal judge recently ordered their release.<\/p>\n
Mather High School students Amari Bell, from left, Angelique Guzman and Emina Alikadic organize students from various North Side schools at River Park to rally during an anti-ICE walkout on Feb. 2, 2026. (E. Jason Wambsgans\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
When Bell saw what had happened, she was taken aback by how indiscriminate the arrest was, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy youngest sibling is older than this child,\u201d she recalled thinking to herself. \u201cThat\u2019s absurd. To me, that\u2019s absolutely absurd. And I think it\u2019s unjust.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spurred by her shock, Bell took to social media to ask if any of her classmates would be interested in a walkout in protest of ICE. Yes, her peers replied, and Bell soon connected with fellow student leaders to bring the action to fruition.<\/p>\n
\u201cA problem cannot be solved or addressed,\u201d Bell said, \u201cif it\u2019s not acknowledged.\u201d<\/p>\n
North Side Ald. Andre Vasquez commended the students\u2019 action.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re watching a government suppress people\u2019s voice,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is inspiring to see the youth make sure that they are being heard and articulating theirs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vasquez said students planned the event, but he helped as an \u201cadult marshal\u201d after a high school intern who works with his office informed him of the protest. He coordinated with police, helped find crossing guards and held up a loudspeaker, he said.<\/p>\n
A Chicago Public Schools spokesperson, in a statement to the Tribune, said the district \u201cremains committed to fostering learning environments that allow students to respectfully deliberate issues with evidence and an open mind \u2013 and safely participate in civic action.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"High](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/CTC-L-student-anti-ICE58946312.jpg\")
High school students from Chicago\u2019s North Side, with assistance from Ald. Andre Vasquez, center holding speaker, gather at River Park to rally during an anti-ICE walkout on Feb. 2, 2026. (E. Jason Wambsgans\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
The spokesperson said the district allows for students to participate in planned civic actions \u2014 including walkouts or protests \u2014 for a period of time during the school day, per CPS guidance.<\/p>\n
Whether or not they could participate, students were encouraged to wear red to school Monday to show solidarity, according to Angelique Guzman, a senior at Mather High who also helped organize the walkout. She even heard about students making posters during class before they left to rally, Guzman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt truly \u2026 (was) empowering to see the youth really step up,\u201d the 18-year-old said.<\/p>\n
Guzman said the \u201crage we have\u201d has long been-building.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt frightens me how minorities are constantly overlooked in this country,\u201d she said. \u201cThe systems of injustices, I think, are so deeply rooted in America (and) I have been victim to (them), and I know a lot of my classmates have been (victim to them, too).\u201d<\/p>\n
Chicago Tribune\u2019s Jake Sheridan, Jason Wambsgans and The Associated Press contributed.<\/p>\n