Students from Mt. SAC Early College Academy took part in a walkout protesting Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its actions on Friday, Feb. 27; the protest was organized by students from several schools, including some from MECA. 

Participating students from MECA, along with six other West Covina, Covina, and La Puente schools, ended up gathering in front of Jollibee Headquarters, directly across from the Eastland Center. Around 12:30 p.m., students met in front of the building with posters, megaphones, and flags. 

“I’m glad I was able to witness people exclaim how they feel about the problems in the world, and I’m glad there wasn’t a lot of disagreement,” said Vincent Hernandez, a senior at MECA who participated in the protest. “I’m glad there’s people who want a change and are trying to make a change.”

Still wanting to speak up but remain safe, some students who participated in the protest preferred to hide their identities.

“I chose to participate because it’s for a cause that needs to be dealt with, and we can’t keep letting it happen,” said an anonymous 11th grade MECA student. “People are being hurt, families are being broken up, and such violent forces are being used.”

During passing and free periods, MECA students made posters to display at the protest. One such poster read, “We Like Our ICE Crushed.”

According to the front office staff, around 30 MECA students in total left campus to protest. Estimates from participants put the combined number of protesters from MECA, West Covina High School, Edgewood High School, South Hills High School, Covina High School, Charter Oak High School, and Bishop Amat High School at around 100 students.

A first group of about 10 MECA students began walking off campus at around 12:20 p.m. during the Winter Class Competition. Security guard Alex Palacios stood by the front gate, making sure students left safely and were marked as having left campus to inform their parents and guardians.  The students made their way down S. Fircroft Street, marching with their posters in hand.

After the Class Competition, more MECA students left campus. with Principal Nate Slaymaker, Assistant Principal Sara Martinez, and counselor Claire Contreras joining Palacios in monitoring.  

The walkout was organized via Instagram, and every school in the district had its own student-run account regarding the walkout. A collab with several of the Instagram pages gave participants a list of chants that they would shout. The provided chants consisted of: “Students against ICE,” “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA,” and “No hate, no war, immigrants are welcome here.” 

“A lot of people, including me, are standing up for our voice to be heard, a change, [and for ICE] to be defunded,” said one owner of the @mtsaceca.walkout account who asked to remain anonymous. “We want [ICE] gone.”

@mtsaceca.walkout stayed continuously active on the protest throughout January and February, posting about the protest and speaking out against ICE. 

“We urge all of the students and members of the Covina and West Covina district to show up and show their support for the immigrants that run this country. This walkout is to recognize the injustice happening in America. We will show our patriotism by showing up and showing out for what’s right,” said @mtsaceca.walkout in an Instagram post on Feb. 10.

The walkout page also provided a list of what to bring and what not to bring to the protest. Some items that were encouraged were face coverings to conceal identities, water, snacks, posters, emergency kits, and flags of your country. Prohibited items included weapons of any kind, hateful or vulgar posters, and any violent or aggressive behavior. 

“I wasn’t really scared because it had been decided by the page and the people leading it that it was going to be peaceful and were there to make our voices heard,” said the same anonymous attendee. “I was only a little nervous because it was my first time doing something like that, and there were only a few of us, so it was a little nerve-racking.”

This walkout was not the first rally for several MECA students, as there was also a walkout protesting against ICE during the previous school year on Feb. 11, 2025. Hernandez is one of the few students who participated in both.

Over the past year, there has been a “2,450% increase in the number of people with no criminal record being held in ICE detention,” stated a report by the American Immigration Council.

According to data collected by ACLED (Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project), there have been more than 700 demonstrations across the United States related to immigration from the start of last year.

As of now, six people have died in ICE custody, and two deaths resulted from shootings by ICE officers during arrests in January of 2026. According to the American Immigration Council, Renee Good and Alex Pretti from Minneapolis were shot, both accused of violent behavior towards officers.

On Feb. 25, Slaymaker released an email to all staff regarding the walkout, instructing them to keep the day running as normal. 

When asked about the situation, Slaymaker had no comment.

“I’m glad they were telling everyone to just treat it like a normal day because it is just another normal day,” Hernandez said. “It just so happens that people want to go out and speak their minds about the problems around the world.”