Skyline and Eastside Catholic students walk out to protest ICE
Hundreds of students from Skyline and Eastside Catholic high schools gathered in front of Sammamish City Hall during school hours on Tuesday, Feb. 3, to protest recent immigration enforcement actions by the Trump Administration around the nation, including in Minnesota.
Sammamish city council members, including the mayor and deputy mayor, joined students at City Hall to support the protests.
Skyline and Eastside Catholic’s walkouts came amidst nationwide protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis over the past month. Eastlake High School students staged their walkout against ICE on Jan. 27, a week before Skyline and Eastside Catholic did the same.
At Skyline, the walkout on Feb. 3 began at 2:25 p.m. with students leaving their seventh-period classes and assembling in front of the school. Skyline senior Odin Harper addressed the students, laying out his plan for the walkout.
“In the next 10 minutes, we will be waving our signs along 228th. Then we’ll head across the street to City Hall,” said Harper.
Eastside Catholic students walked south on 228th Avenue and met Skyline students at City Hall.
The walkout was organized by Harper, along with Skyline sophomore Ayan Islam, Washington Students United 4 Progress (WSU4P) and local community members.
“We don’t like ICE in our communities. Fear is driven into the hearts of so many immigrants and citizens alike,” said Harper in an interview with the Sammamish Independent. “And this is not how a force of the government should be acting. We’re standing up and fighting back against this oppression, and we won’t be silenced.”
When the protesters arrived at City Hall, they unfurled a 20-foot-long list bearing the names of 39 people. Each person on the list was someone who died in ICE custody, or at the hands of federal law enforcement, since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025.
Of the 39 people listed, 32 died in 2025. Six of the dead were of Asian descent.
“I think it’s really important for Asians to speak out because there seems to be sort of this general thought that it can’t happen to Asians, but it can,” Councilmember Amy Lam said in an interview with the Sammamish Independent. “So I think the Asian community needs to understand it can happen to them. And that’s why I’m here.”
As of July 2025, 37% of Sammamish residents are of Asian descent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Students gathered in front of City Hall and surrounded Sammamish councilmembers Lam and Pam Stuart. For an hour, adults and student protesters delivered speeches alike, being occasionally interrupted by applause and chants. During her speech, Stuart focused on the Constitution.
“My biggest concern right now is so many things, the First Amendment, our freedom of the press, the president is threatening news organizations to revoke their licenses if they don’t say things that agree with him,” Stuart said in her speech.
Stuart also discussed Fourth Amendment rights, claiming the administration was violating due process and conducting improper searches.
Kennedy Mungro, a sophomore at Skyline, volunteered to give an impromptu speech to the throng of protesters.
“This is my first protest, and I couldn’t have explained how amazing it made me feel that schools, Eastlake Catholic, and Skyline came out here, skipping their lessons to teach adults, who are supposed to know something, a lesson,” Mungro said. “I came up here to tell you everyone is valid in America.”
More students from Skyline and Eastside Catholic expressed themselves in front of their peers, with Sammamish Mayor Josh Amato in attendance as well. The mayor, elected by the council in January, has been a vocal critic of ICE on social media. However, his position gives him limited authority against ICE.
Individual cities are not required to enforce federal immigration laws. While the city government cannot directly oppose ICE, it does have control over local police, firefighters and service providers.
“It’s important that I don’t promise people things that I can’t do. One of the most powerful things I can do is use my voice and speak up,” Amato said in an interview with the Sammamish Independent. “There’s so much fear and uncertainty, but letting people know that their local government, their local leaders stand with them, I think, is very important.”
“We want to make sure all residents, especially immigrants who might not know, that calling 911 in Sammamish is a safe thing to do. That if you’re in trouble, if you are hurt, if you need assistance, you can still call your local government and your local police,” said Amato.
The mayor’s message to immigrants fearful of the current atmosphere relies on history.
“America often ends up doing the right thing, but it can take way too long to get there,” Amato said.
After speeches concluded, student protesters returned to the streets, lining both sides of 228th Avenue in front of the library. While many protesters went home, those who stayed waved signs, encouraging drivers passing by to honk their horns in support.
Neev Ambale, a junior at Skyline, was among several students who stayed.
“My voice is hoarse because I’ve been chanting with all these wonderful people for so long,” said Ambale. “I want to say to anyone who’s [reading] this, get out there. Do more. Help out your community. And stay united.”
Students also set up a speaker to play music while they danced and chanted. Harper, the event organizer, stood on a traffic median on 228th Avenue, holding a sign that read “ICE OUT.”
“I’m going to keep posting all over about what’s been going on, current events, the ICE raids. I’m going to disrupt life safely. I’m going to continue planning walkouts and protests,” Harper said. “Speaking out is the biggest thing.”
