Dozens of students from Northside High School in Houston were suspended after participating in a protest last week against recent immigration policies. The protest, held on Friday, involved about 100 students who walked out of school to demonstrate against President Donald Trump’s decision to remove immigration protections from schools and other sensitive areas like churches.
The students, many of whom are Latino, were calling on Houston Independent School District (HISD) to provide stronger protections against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on their campuses. Approximately 85% of Northside’s student body is Latino.
Among the students suspended was Joshua Ramos, a sophomore at Northside. He expressed frustration over being barred from entering school after the protest, especially since he had learned about the First Amendment in his history class. Ramos and others were suspended for “disruptive activities” during the protest, which took place after their first period on Friday.
The district stated that while the protest was mostly peaceful, a group of students “persisted with disruptive activities despite requests to return order.” As a result, the school was placed on “secure mode” to ensure safety. Of the 100 students who initially walked out, around 55 returned to class, while the remaining 45 were involved in behavior that disrupted school activities.
Ramos denied being disruptive, claiming that he was urging others to remain calm. “If they really want to accuse me of that, we can review the security cameras,” Ramos said. “They will see that I was telling students to stop causing trouble.”
Organizers of the protest claimed that some students were expelled, but the district denied this. On Monday morning, dozens of parents and students gathered outside Northside High School to protest the suspensions and demand their reversal.
Willie Rodriguez, the father of suspended student Reyna Rodriguez, expressed his concern over the severity of the punishment. “The punishment was way too harsh for the accusation,” Rodriguez said. “I want to see proof that my daughter was disruptive. She told me she wasn’t, and I believe her.”
Reyna Rodriguez added that she had been peacefully protesting, though she acknowledged seeing some students engaging in disruptive behavior. “I think that’s why a lot of kids got in trouble,” she said. “But not all of us were being disruptive.”
14-year-old Ayaha Carter, another Northside student, said he was protesting in solidarity with his friends who are at risk due to the current immigration policies. “I’m protesting because Trump and ICE are trying to take my Mexican friends, and I really need them because they’re my friends,” Carter said.
The incident highlights growing tensions around immigration policies and the role of schools in protecting students’ rights to protest. The district has not responded to calls for a reevaluation of the suspensions, but the protest has sparked ongoing discussions about student activism and the limits of school discipline.
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