Close to 2,000 middle and high school students across the Salem-Keizer School District walked out of their classrooms Friday to gather across from the Capitol, rallying for increased support for immigrant communities in Salem.

The youth advocacy organization Latinos Unidos Siempre organized the rally after an inquiry from 16-year-old McKay High School student Arely Rodriguez, who called for Oregon’s second-largest school district and the state Legislature to do more to protect immigrant communities from overreaching federal enforcement activity.

The issue hit close to home for many Salem-Keizer students, as about half the district’s 38,000 students are Latino and many come from immigrant families. Some have personally experienced trauma from increased immigration enforcement. 

“Every morning I leave my house with a lump in my throat. I don’t know if my parents will be there when I get home from school. And I know I’m not the only person living with this constant fear,” Rodriguez told the crowd in Spanish. Another student translated her comments to English. “My grades have dropped, not because I don’t care about my education but because it’s impossible to concentrate on school when my community is being kidnapped.”

One demand students had was for the passage of House Bill 4079, which would require Oregon public schools and universities to notify students and parents of immigration enforcement actions on or near school campuses. The measure passed the House mostly on party lines last week, and a Senate vote is scheduled Monday. 

Students also advocated for the passage of the dozen other bills in the immigrant justice package, a suite of bills supported by the Democratic majority. 

If those bills pass, Oregon would offer increased guidance for schools and hospitals when addressing federal officers, guarantee additional data protections for immigrants and restrict law enforcement from wearing masks.

Students organize, speak out

LUS promoted the rally on its social media pages, including Instagram, which provided information for students on bills related to immigration, and bus routes from schools to reach the Capitol. Students left school around 11:30 to arrive at the Capitol mall by 12:30. The rally included dancers and speakers, then a procession around the Capitol led by Rodriguez. 

In speeches, student leaders advocated for increased support for immigrants and their families, both at state and district levels. They also described how the fear of immigration enforcement is impacting them, including affecting academic performance.

Students also called for their schools to stop using Yondr pouches, or lockable pouches they’re required to put phones and personal electronic devices into during the school day. The district started using the pouches last school year, and Gov. Tina Kotek required K-12 schools statewide to ban personal electronic devices in a July executive order.

The initiative was meant to keep students offline and more focused on the school day. However, student advocates contend the inability to contact family members during the school day causes more anxiety than focus as they fear Immigration and Customs Enforcement potentially detaining family members.

Gibelly Zumba-Lopez, 14, walked from North Salem High School to the Capitol holding a sign saying “veto the Cheeto.”

“This is a historical thing that a lot of people need to be involved in,” Zumba-Lopez said. “As a teenager, I want to speak out about it and I want people to know that there are people who also support them.”

During the walk over, she said she experienced some people who disagreed with the students trying to interfere. Several counterprotesters tried to engage with the students, and a large group of students followed counterdemonstrators to a nearby corner, with some throwing water bottles at them.

No injuries were reported and no arrests resulted from that clash, according to a Friday evening press release from the Salem Police Department.

Salem-Keizer Public Schools Communications Director Aaron Harada said in an emailed statement that the district is committed to its immigrant students and their families. 

“We see their fear, stress, and trauma and do all we can to be (a) safe and trusted place,” Harada wrote. “Salem-Keizer Public Schools’ commitment to our students is simple, steady, published on paper and present in practice. In Salem-Keizer Public Schools, every student is welcomed, protected, respected and educated every day. No exceptions.”

The rally was not a school-sanctioned event. Students attending would not be penalized for doing so, but they would receive an unexcused absence. 

However, for students like 12-year-old Valerie Renteria, who left class at Waldo Middle School and held a sign that said “I’m missing my lessons to teach you one,” speaking out was worth the risk.

“This isn’t really about politics anymore,” she said. “It’s starting to affect people.”

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