Disclaimer: Profane language is present in the footage and images captured. The Pearl Post Editorial Board chose to include this footage without censorship in order to properly and effectively communicate students’ messages. 

UPDATE: The story and photo slideshow were added on Feb. 11. 

As President Donald Trump clamps down on immigration policies and tightens border security, students walked out of school on Monday morning to protest out of concern for their communities. 

“I don’t think people should be getting sent to camps,” said freshman Melanie Serraia, who attends Lancaster High School. “And what Trump is doing is not fair to everyone.” 

As the first bell rang on Monday, signifying the start of the school day, students walked out of Daniel Pearl Magnet High School (DPMHS) to join other students in protesting Trump’s immigration policies. One such policy includes an order that permits Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to enter “sensitive areas” like schools, churches and hospitals. The protest included students from Lancaster High School, Reseda Charter High School, Birmingham Community Charter High School (BCCHS) and Magnolia Science Academy.

Over the past two weeks, numerous protests have erupted across the Los Angeles area and the country as people voice their discontent with the Trump administration’s approach to immigration. 

“We as a generation can stand against what the current president is doing and we won’t allow that,” said one walkout organizer who requested anonymity for fear of retribution from their school administrators. “It’s not fair for our parents, who came from a different country, to live in fear just for simply giving us the better life that they unfortunately couldn’t achieve in their home country.”   

This is not the first time DPMHS students have walked out this year. Last September, DPMHS students walked out to protest against the displacement of teachers. Junior Delilah Trujillo, who helped organize the protests, applied her prior knowledge to take a stand with other students.  

“I think it’s important for all of us to stand together right now and make it up for those who can’t,” Trujillo said. “For anyone who’s watching this protest, please speak up. I know it’s a scary time but I do suggest all of us as a community stick together no matter what.”

Students in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) have decades-spanning history of student protesting. In 1968, students in East Los Angeles, majority Latino, walked out of their schools to protest for better education access and conditions. 

In 2006, during the George W. Bush administration, students protested against the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act bill that would empower immigration law and fund construction of additional border fencing. At the time, the bill had passed through the House. Ultimately, it died in the Senate. 

During the first Trump administration, students protested against ICE raids and deportation. Students also walked out against gun violence following the Parkland High School shooting in 2018. 

On Monday, students congregated by the Jack in the Box at the intersection of Balboa Boulevard and Vanowen Street before marching their way to the Van Nuys Civic Center. Many students held anti-ICE and pro-immigration signs, including one that read “ICE melts in hell.”  

As students made the hour-long walk to the Van Nuys Civic Center, they were supported by drivers honking their horns. Cheers and chants made their way through the street-long crowd, echoing off walls of the 405’s underpass. Along their trek, onlookers also shouted their support, waving their phones and blaring music. Some passed out water and food to the protestors. 

Before reaching the Van Nuys Civic Center, the protest detoured to walk by Van Nuys High School (VNHS). Some protesters urged VNHS to walkout, but none joined. The protest moved its way to its ultimate location, the civic center, and continued there. 

Upon reaching the location, students waved their signs with sayings like “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you” and “Keep families together.” Students chanted sayings such as “We belong here” and “Si se puede (Yes it’s possible.)” Sophomore Jamie Gomez, who attends Reseda Charter High School, spoke to the crowd in front of the West Van Nuys courthouse with a megaphone in hand.

“We have to stop this somehow. There’s no way they can’t listen to us,” Gomez said. “They can ignore us, but they’re gonna hear us. They don’t have to listen to us, but we’re gonna make them hear us. You belong here, I belong here, your parents belong here, no one is illegal on stolen land. ¡Nadie es ilegal en tierra robada! (No one is illegal on stolen land)! ¡Viva Mexico! (Long live Mexico!).”

As of now, it’s not known if DPMHS students plan to participate in future protests.

This story was originally published on The Pearl Post on February 10, 2025.