By Mary O’KEEFE

Members of several student clubs from Crescenta Valley High School gathered in front of the school’s gym on Ramsdell Avenue on Thursday, Feb. 5, in the early afternoon to exercise their First Amendment right to protest. 

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” – Constitution of the United States, First Amendment

The students were protesting the actions of ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement]. 

“We blended with all the clubs and all the kids [who] are interested in coming out,” said one of the organizers. She added there were several kids who didn’t feel safe protesting due to personal safety concerns, even though they are U.S. citizens. So the clubs hosted week-long activities in the school’s quad including distributing Know Your Rights worksheets and phone numbers to call if ICE is in the area. 

When asked if she knows kids personally who are afraid due to the possibility of an ICE arrest, she said, “One hundred percent, especially kids [who]  have immigrant parents that don’t have citizenship status, and even ones [who] do have citizenship status – just because of how violent everything has been recently and how ICE doesn’t really see any legal limits to their actions.”

Student organizers said they just want to get the word out and to stand in solidarity with fellow students. 

“This is mainly just to show that our voices won’t be silenced and that we still have our right to protest for law and freedom of speech and we are going to use [this right] while we still can as students,” she said. 

“We definitely want to use this as a platform [to raise] attention because we are looking to host even more community fundraisers and activities where we can help provide resources to families that need [them] in these times,” a student organizer said. 

The students reached out to law enforcement to make sure they were safe as they walked from the school’s gym on Ramsdell Avenue to the La Crescenta Library where they held a rally. 

Once at the library, another organizer shared with the protestors that she was afraid. 

“Even though I was born in this country, as a brown person I have never been more afraid,” she said. “I have never been more afraid to be Latina in America.”