On February 10, 2026, hundreds of Osbourn students participated in a peaceful student-scheduled walkout in protest of ICE operations all over the country, including increased ICE presence in Manassas. 

The protest was organized by Osbourn junior, Neptune Andrade. The Osbourn student community circulated her social media post that shared details of a walkout. A date and time were provided, being February 10th at 2:05 to 2:50 PM. Later, she posted details of the walkout occurring in the driver’s education parking lot behind the school, next to the stadium. 

In a letter sent to families, Osbourn High School’s principal, Dr. Chapman, expressed to families that the administration was aware of the walkout; however did not endorse or encourage the walkout. “Our primary responsibility is, and will always remain, the safety and well-being of all students and staff,” said the letter, “should a walkout occur, our administrative team, along with school security and division leadership, will be present and prepared to ensure students remain safe and supervised.” The letter also made it clear that, despite the walkout, instruction would continue as usual, as this was not a school-sponsored event. “We encourage families to speak with their students about making safe, respectful, and responsible choices while at school,” continued Dr. Chapman’s letter.

“I spoke with a bunch of teachers, as well as Dr. Chapman and the assistant principal,” said Andrade. “They all told us the legality of protesting and doing a walkout, and tried to give us the safest possible way we could do the walkout without any major consequences for the rest of the students and us,” she continued.

“The protest was not officially approved because the school is not allowed to say that they approve of the protest. If they stated that, then it would mean they are saying they are against ICE,” explained Andrade. “Not because they agree with ICE, but because schools are not allowed to make any political remarks. However, they allowed us to protest because it is our civil right to do so.” 

Virginia state law supports student civic engagement through a policy allowing middle and high school students at least one excused day-long absence per year for civic events, which was effective July 1, 2021, according to Key Virginia Laws and Policies on Student Civic Engagement. 

Previously, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) existed within the United States, but it was not such a hot topic. ICE is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security, established in March 2003. ICE’s stated mission was to conduct criminal investigations, enforce immigration laws, preserve national security, and protect public safety. ICE’s original creation was in response to the September 11th terrorist attacks on New York City and the Pentagon. ICE then absorbed the previous functions of the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the United States Customs Service.    

During Donald Trump’s first term, ICE under his administration deported approximately 932,000 to 1.2 million people, according to CNN.com. Following the election of Joe Biden, Donald Trump was very critical of the Biden administration’s handling of the border. Donald Trump referred to America’s border during Joe Biden’s presidency as “a crisis”.  The 4 year gap between Donald Trump and Joe Biden’s presidencies, with drastically different handling of the border, had effectively amped up Donald Trump and Republican efforts to further their anti-immigration agenda. Donald Trump came back harder in his second term with ICE efforts. 

Following the passing of the Big Beautiful Bill Act in 2025, ICE became the largest and most-funded federal law enforcement agency in U.S. history, with an annual budget of $75 billion to $85 billion as of 2025, according to The New York Times.

There had always been contentious conversations about U.S. border policy, but the idea of border patrol being in the streets of the United States was unheard of. President Donald Trump has made campaign promises to enforce border security and deport immigrants who are not U.S. citizens. 

Previously, ICE agents received 5 months of training. As of February 2026, ICE agents receive a mere 8 weeks of training, according to Associated Press. The shortening of the program also involved the removal of Spanish language learning courses in favor of mobile translation technology. Police officers deputized to assist ICE may only be required to complete a 40-hour online training course to become an ICE agent. The shortening of training has resulted in significant oversight concerns, centered on the quality of training of new recruits and high-profile uses of brutal and sometimes lethal force. 

The scrutiny all over the country and calls to abolish or reform ICE have resulted following the murder of Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year old mother who was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. Her death, which was recorded by bystanders, shocked and outraged the public. Following her death, there were multiple more deaths in the coming weeks, like Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year old ICU nurse, which increased the focus on ICE and their actions resulting in the fatality of American civilians. 

All of this impacted the students’ decision to walk out to use their voices against injustice. “I wanted to organize this walkout because I know a lot of people don’t agree with ICE and don’t support what is going on in the US,” said Andrade. “Teenagers aren’t able to actually talk with government officials about this topic, and I wanted to allow the students in our school to speak up and voice their opinion in the safest way possible.”

“I hate what’s happening in the world right now,” expressed sophomore Khiyah Pitkin. “It makes me mad and sad every single day. My friend’s mom works too hard in the country just to get everything taken from her,” she shared.

“Immigrants have every right to be here if they are working hard and trying to make an honest living,” said senior Naomi Lopez. “And that’s doing more than most people who don’t need papers.”

“I believe that this isn’t about crime or doing it the ‘right way,’” said junior Cash Davis. “It’s about crushing and oppressing an imaginary boogieman as a demonstration of power.”

“No one deserves to be treated like this when they aren’t doing anything wrong,” said freshman Kayla Moore. “They are just trying to have a normal life for themselves and their kids, but get treated so wrong for no good reason.” 

“I think everyone is so brainwashed to think it is good,” said sophomore Elise Evans. “ICE is supposed to be securing the borders, and instead they’re on our streets harassing civilians.”

“I feel strongly about this because a lot of my friends are considered immigrants,” said junior Jordan Stevenson. “I care deeply about them, and you see what they’re doing to people and what you’re seeing on the news.” 

“As someone whose parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins my age are immigrants, I feel really strongly about how wrong this is,” said a sophomore girl. “I fear for myself, as a Hispanic person, that I could be profiled as a target and get hurt.”

“I’ve felt strongly about this issue for a long time,” said Davis. “It was a problem when Obama did it, when Biden did it, and when Trump did it. I feel like there is a mass hysteria around immigration as a way to distract from wage theft workers in the American experience,” Davis expressed. “Immigrants have helped maintain the infrastructure black people have built, and in American Mythos, immigrants and immigration should be idealized as part of the ideals of this country.” 

To express their viewpoints and grievances, many students made signs. “I wrote, ‘Leave our civilians alone. Leave the people who belong here alone. You cannot be illegal on stolen land,” said Stevenson. “I am going to say, ‘ICE, call yo Uber’,” said sophomore Adama Kamara. 

When asked if they had a message for ICE, students had a variety of responses. “We don’t want ICE on our streets,” said one sophomore.

“Why do you want to hurt innocent people who are just trying to live their lives and be there for their kids?” asked Moore.

Did you choose to participate in the walkout? What are your thoughts? Tell us in the comments.