Friday morning February 6, about 800 students from Valencia and El Dorado High Schools (in Placentia) walked out of their classes and gathered at the Placentia Police Department to peacefully protest recent ICE actions in their community. The students expressed their indignation with respect. Community members offered their support along the route, gathering outside residential complexes and signaling encouragement by honking their horns. The Placentia Yorba Linda Unified School District (PYLUSD) and the Placentia Police Department addressed the issue with professionalism, honoring students’ right to voice their concerns. The event was energizing and empowering. It was about young people building community.
The walkout was evidently triggered by a wrongful detention of an El Dorado student on January 26, as well as a subsequent tone-deaf PYLUSD resolution from Trustee Leandra Blades that, among other things, falsely equates ICE activities with local law enforcement. ICE agents detained the student, who wishes to remain anonymous, for a minor bike infraction. ICE eventually determined that the boy was in fact a US citizen and instead of releasing him reported him to a gang unit. The gang unit confiscated his phone and backpack, and it appears that certain materials on his phone were deleted or blocked. (Thanks to the Fullerton Observer for reporting on this incident.)
The only real criminal activity in this incident appears to have been committed by ICE and possibly other law enforcement. Blades’ board resolution in support of ICE will be considered at this Tuesday’s PYLUSD Board Meeting at 6:30 PM. It is open to the public. Parents should also be aware that the State Attorney General’s office has a website where abuses by federal agents can be reported.
In addition to the incident involving the El Dorado student, a January 18 ICE raid at the Chapman Northgate market around the corner from Valencia also illustrates the insecurity and harassment the Placentia community has faced. An early morning raid drove customers away from the supermarket and the adjacent strip mall businesses. The deserted parking lot captured in the video that morning quietly reflects the economic and personal impact on a place that was once lively every Sunday. Many of the kids who were protesting have borne the burden of the ICE raids, as their parents fear leaving their home to shop and even go to work. Families stay at home rather than gather in parks on weekends due to similar concerns. These kids are the voices of their parents. These kids are the voices of their community.
The PYLUSD knows and understands this. For this reason, the district released a statement that took no position on the walkout. Instead, it provided guidance to parents and staff about managing any potential issues related to the event. Parents were asked to inform the school if they allowed their child to leave campus for this demonstration of First Amendment rights. State law permits one excused absence per school year for students to engage in citizen actions (Education Code §48205(a)(12). The district will not incur any financial loss if students with absences participate in lunch or afterschool programs designed to allow them to make up missed time. Also, this law requires that teachers provide make-up work if the absence has been excused by the student’s parent or guardian.
The Placentia PD also behaved laudably. They, too, are part of the community. They ensured the safety of the students. A concern arose around 11:30 when about a dozen officers dressed in riot gear with four or five SUVs behind them stood at the gates of the Placentia Civic Center. They responded that they had no plans to step in when questioned about their intentions to intervene. They were focused on safety and seemed to grasp the community’s worries about ICE’s actions. As midday approached and the protest’s early momentum started to fade, several leaders within the crowd guided people westward toward the 57 freeway. The police made it clear that the crowd would not be allowed to disrupt freeway traffic. News travelled rapidly among the protestors, and the march concluded close to its starting location in Valencia—at least for the Valencia segment, which was the larger of the two groups.
The students were predominantly Latino, but there was also a large contingent of Asians, Whites, and Blacks. The event centered around the theme “ICE out of our community,” with numerous signs communicating different iterations of this message. There were many signs conveying the message delivered by the artist Bad Bunny at the Grammy Awards last week. His 50-second Grammy speech established the message and spirit of the walkout. It underpinned everything.
There was evidently only one group promoting a specific political agenda. This was the Party for Socialism & Liberation, a revolutionary Leninist Party. They brought many signs with a picture of Trustee Blades and the message ICE OUT OF PYLUSD. They also prominently featured their political party on the sign. One suspects that the reasons so many students were carrying these signs was due to the specific targeting of Trustee Blades rather than their affiliation with the PSL. This, of course, will be something Trustee Blades uses to disparage the entire event. No evidence suggested that participants, including the small group of PSL activists, planned to disrupt the peaceful environment or community-focused character of the event.
There were two white male agitators opposed to the message who drove around in their pickup hollering insults and making crude gesture, but they did not evoke more than a few shouted responses. The students likely knew the two males and knew as well to ignore them.
There was also a group of approximately 50 adults who primarily assumed the role of observers rather than active participants. Many of them came from local Democratic clubs or other community organizations and churches. Some were concerned parents and grandparents of students involved. Older adults stayed on the sidelines while students managed the event they had organized themselves. (We older folk were only planning to intervene had the police in riot gear indicated they were going to disperse the crowd.)
The walkout showed the community’s refusal to let ICE take away their dignity or rights. The students found their collective voice. They did not need one speaker. They did not need one leader. They know they have each other. The consistently favorable reactions from passing vehicles and apartment residents, who offered encouragement as we proceeded along Bradford, Kraemer, and Chapman, demonstrated a unity that is likely to endure. Friday proved to be productive, offering numerous lessons with the anticipation that students will apply their classroom learning in practice. This, as they say, is what democracy looks like!
The only thing missing were some of the stories those of us who are not yet in ICE’s target hairs need to hear. Although several individuals were invited to speak, events unfolded differently. One woman, however, provided an anonymous statement that was intended to be read. With her permission, here it is.
HI I’M HERE TODAY AS A MOTHER. MY SON GOES TO HIGHSCHOOL HERE AND I’M SCARED!
I AM AN IMMIGRANT DAUGHTER FROM IMMIGRANT PARENTS. I CAME TO THIS COUNTRY AS A CHILD. I GREW UP HERE, I WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL HERE. I DID EVERYTHING THAT TEENAGERS ARE DOING TODAY. THIS IS MY HOME, BUT FOR MANY YEARS I HAVE BEEN LIVING IN THE SHADOWS QUIETLY UNABLE TO USE MY VOICE! I AM ONE OF THE MILLIONS OF IMMIGRANTS LIVING IN THE SHADOWS FOR MANY YEARS! I NEVER STOPPED HOPING FOR CHANGE IN THIS BROKEN IMMIGRATION SYSTEM UNTIL TODAY! I’M SCARED AND I LIVE IN FEAR EVERYDAY!
I SPEAK ON BEHALF OF ALL IMMIGRANTS, PARENTS, STUDENTS, FRIENDS, CHILDREN AND ANYONE LIVING IN FEAR AT THIS VERY MOMENT! YOU ARE NOT ALONE! STAY STRONG! WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER! WE FEEL YOUR PAIN, YOUR ANGER AND WE FEEL YOUR FEAR!
I’M AFRAID NOT JUST FOR MYSELF- BUT FOR MY SON AND FOR EVERY STUDENT WHO SHOULD FEEL SAFE AT SCHOOL! I FEAR FOR MY SON AND FOR MANY OTHERS THAT MIGHT BE RACIALLY PROFILED! RACIALLY PROFILED FOR THE COLOR OF HIS SKIN OR BY HIS NAME OR RACE. I FEEL FOR ALL THOSE PARENTS FOR WHAT THEY ARE GOING THROUGH RIGHT NOW! IT IS NOT FAIR! THIS IS INJUSTICE! NO STUDENT SHOULD HAVE TO GO TO SCHOOL IN FEAR!! NO PARENT SHOULD HAVE TO FEAR FOR THEIR KIDS TO GO TO SCHOOL!! WE GOTTA KEEP FIGHTING! WE HAVE TO KEEP PUSHING BACK!
I would like to share what some other families are feeling right now; here are a few of their statements:
I’M SAD, I’M ANGRY, I’M SCARED SEEING ALL THESE ICE OFFICERS IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS. TAKING PEOPLE OFF THE STREETS, TAKING KIDS, MOMS, DADS, TAKING GARDNERS, OUR GRANPARENTS, FRIENDS, NEIGHBORS AND HURTING THEM!!!
I’M AFRAID TO GO OUT, IM AFRAID TO GO GROCERY SHOPPING. I’M AFRAID TO GO TO WORK.
I CAN’T SLEEP AT NIGHT, THINKING THEY WILL COME AND BREAK MY DOOR TO GET INSIDE. I HAVE NIGHTMARES!
I HAVE CRIED FOR MONTHS, I’M SAD AND HEARTBROKEN, I LIVE IN FEAR!!
TO ALL THE STUDENTS STANDING HERE TODAY, TO ALL THE NEW GENERATION Z… I JUST WANT TO SAY YOU HAVE THE POWER FOR CHANGE!! YOU HAVE A VOICE! CONTINUE TO SPEAK UP!! CONTINUE TO USE YOUR VOICE! KEEP PUSHING BACK! KEEP FIGHTING! KEEP PROTECTING YOUR FAMILIES, YOUR FRIENDS, YOUR NEIGHBORS AND YOUR COMMUNITIES!! KEEP USING YOUR SOCIAL PLATFORMS TO SPREAD AWARENESS!! NEVER BE AFRAID TO STAND UP! TOGETHER WE ARE STRONGER! AND THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT TODAY AND STANDING AGAINST ICE!!
pic from Fullerton Observer
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UPDATE FROM THE Placentia – Yorba Linda KIDS, regarding tonight’s PYLUSD board meeting – MAKE SURE TO CLICK ALL THOSE ARROWS ON THE RIGHT:
Good summary!
UPDATE FROM THE Placentia – Yorba Linda KIDS, regarding tonight (Tuesday night’s) PYLUSD board meeting – MAKE SURE TO CLICK ALL THOSE ARROWS ON THE RIGHT: