Eastside high school students walk out to protest Trump immigration policies
Demonstrations at Garfield and Roosevelt high schools were part of nationwide protests tied to the anniversary of President Trump’s second inauguration.
Students walk out of Garfield High School on Tuesday, Jan. 20. 2026. Credit: Courtesy of @eastla.unincorporated via Instagram
Updated: 2:09 p.m. Jan. 20, 2026
In a show of protest against the Trump administration’s intensified immigration enforcement, students at at least two high schools on LA’s Eastside staged walkouts on Tuesday.
At Garfield High School in East Los Angeles, a video posted to the Citizen app showed large groups of students gathering in the school’s quad shortly after 12:30 p.m. Another video stream posted on TikTok showed an unknown number of students walking out of the campus and heading toward City Hall.
At Roosevelt High School, the gates were locked shortly after noon and students mostly gathered outside their classrooms. Three students managed to walk out before the gates were locked. They held signs that read, “NO TO DEPORTATIONS,” which were given by members of the social justice organization Centro CSO, who joined them to provide support.
Video later showed that students were able to walk out of Roosevelt High shortly after 1 p.m. The demonstrations are part of nationwide protests marking the anniversary of President Donald Trump’s second inauguration.
“We’re a community full of Chicanos, we should fight back!” a Garfield High student says on a video posted on the Citizen app.
As students walked out, Garfield High Principal Regina Marquez-Martinez is seen with a microphone, saying, “If you’re not ready for consequences know that you have an alternative … Your alternative is to stay here.”
“You can have sit-ins here … The safest place for you is to be here,” she is heard saying.
Another student is heard saying, “Walk out for your family, for your friends, for all of those affected. ICE has been going out here, tearing us apart, hurting us,” one student is heard saying.
The demonstrations are part of nationwide protests marking the anniversary of President Donald Trump’s second inauguration.
My background: I was part of the team that launched De Los, a new section of the Los Angeles Times exploring Latino identity. I’ve been a local reporter for The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, The San Gabriel Valley Tribune, and The Orange County Register. You can find my writing on religion, food, and culture in The Atlantic, Eater, the Associated Press, the Washington Post, and Religion News Service. My upbringing spans South Central, El Monte, and Pomona.
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