By Lillie Cardenas

Students assembled outside their high schools holding handmade signs and chanting in unison protesting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in Northwest Arkansas. The demonstration was organized by high school students and reflected growing fear among immigrant families in the Springdale community and a sense of urgency students said they could no longer ignore.

Though the protest was started by high schoolers, its message went beyond Springdale campuses, drawing attention from University of Arkansas students and members of the community who said immigration policies continue to shape their lives.

Springdale high school sophomore Daisy Martinez said she helped organize the protest to stand up for her family and others affected by immigration enforcement. Martinez, who is from Mexico, said ICE activity has caused significant emotional harm within the community.

“They’re separating our families,” Martinez said. “They don’t know what they’re doing to us mentally. They’re just hurting our families.”

Martinez said the goal of the protest was to challenge narratives that dehumanize immigrants and to remind lawmakers and adults that students are paying attention. She said that young people deserve to be taken seriously, regardless of age.

“Even though I’m young, I want to be taken serious,” Martinez said. “We’re all the same. We’re all human beings.”

Springdale High School senior Sophie McClelland, who was partially involved in the organization process of the protest, described the demonstration as a response to what she has as an increasingly concerning issue. She said immigration enforcement has become more evident  in her community, making it impossible for her to remain silent.

McClelland said her mother is a legal immigrant from Russia but many of her friends have undocumented parents. She said ICE activity has created a constant state of fear among students, especially those worried about their families being torn apart. 

“It just makes everybody scared,” McClelland said. “We’re all on edge.”

McClelland explained that immigration policies show up in her daily life through the experiences of her friends, some of whom live with anxiety that their parents could be detained or deported at any time. While McClelland said that while she cannot fully resonate to the fear, she still feels compelled to support those who live with it every day. 

McClelland acknowledged that students do not have the same power as adults but participation itself matters. She described attending the protests as the least she could do to demonstrate solidarity. 

“I can’t do as much as an adult might be able to,” she said, “but I’m going to do as much as I can.”

Other students framed the protests as part of a broader fight for civil rights. Har-Ber High School senior Adriana, who asked that only her first name be used, said she attended because she believes immigration enforcement represents a bigger injustice that affects not just immigrants, but everyone. 

“When the rights of Latinos are infringed upon, everybody’s rights are infringed upon,” Adriana said.

She described the protest as an effort to help not only immigrant communities but American rights more broadly. Adriana said she hopes the demonstration will draw attention from city and state leaders and lead to meaningful change.

“We want ICE immediately out,” she said. “We want ICE abolished.”

Adriana said she believes protests can lead to change, especially when media coverage brings student voices into the eye of the public. 

“You’re here, and that’s news,” she said. “News is what causes change.”

While the protests attendees were mostly high school students, UA freshman Betsy Lopez said the issue affects college students as well. Lopez, a marketing major, attended the protest in support of family members and friends who were too afraid to attend themselves.

Lopez is a Springdale High School alumni and she said returning felt meaningful both symbolically and personally. She said seeing younger students organize a protest over an issue that was important to them gave her hope. 

“I wanted to be there on behalf of friends and family that are scared to go and attend,” Lopez said. 

Lopez said immigration policies continue to affect her family directly. She said that a family member has already been deported and that nearly half of her family is undocumented.

“It does affect us,” Lopez said. “It just feels like there’s nothing we can really do.”

Lopez explained that ICE activity has changed how a lot of families navigate everyday life. She described relatives who are too scared to drive or even leave their homes, having to rely on others for transportation out of fear of being stopped or detained.

“I have a family member that’s scared to drive,” she said. “So we take turns taking her wherever she needs to be.”

Although Lopez said she hopes protests like this can lead to change, she said she feels uncertain whether policymakers will respond. 

For U of A students, Lopez’s presence demonstrates how immigration policies does not stop affecting individuals after high school. Many college students continue to balance their academic lives while worrying for family members back home.

The Springdale protests reflect a new trend of youth-led activism in Northwest Arkansas, where students are using public demonstrations more and more to respond to policies affecting their communities. Participants said their goal was not to disturb, but to be visible to the community.

As chants echoed, students repeated messages they hoped would go far beyond Springdale. They want to be seen as human beings and they want their voices, regardless of their age, to matter.