In March of 2003, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement was founded (ICE). This is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in which holds the responsibility for enforcing all the federal laws governing border control, trade, immigration within the U.S., and customs. The main focus for ICE was to detain and remove undocumented immigrants within America along with investigations on transnational crime and combating human trafficking and illegal contraband.
January 2026, critics of ICE, say recent events have negatively impacted their perception of federal immigration enforcement and the impact on America’s view for freedom, nationality, and leadership. Some critics have compared ICE to the Gestapo, the secret police of Nazi Germany, a claim supporters of the agency strongly reject. With videos circulating the internet daily, the public has seen multiple actions taken by ICE that they disagree with.
People across states like Minnesota, Washington, Pennsylvania, and many more have started to protest against ICE. During the month of January, hundreds of people marched into Minneapolis, Minnesota, demanding justice for the ICE shooting involving an intensive care nurse for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, 37-year-old Alex Pretti, and a recognized American writer, and 37-year-old Renee Good, both U.S. citizens.
Students in the Las Vegas community have started to take action by planning protests. Jan. 22, Western High School followed a city wide walk out starting around 12:30 p.m. and according to Southwest Shadow, Jan. 29, students at Southwest Career and Technical Academy marched down Rainbow Blvd, and Riley Baker, a senior, led a chant. These are students of every grade, walking with signs and yelling to protect humans in their country. One sign read, “Hate Never Made America Great.”
Zelah Mata, current Senior at Liberty, states, “I feel that the students participating in walkouts and peaceful protests in our school district are brave, have strong morals, and are on the right side of history because any of us could choose to stay silent, that’s the safest alternative is what we’ve been told, but they’re choosing to do what’s right and speak up for those that don’t have a voice. They are very admirable.”
Junior, Mia Hafen, a Liberty student has said, “We are still young and there isn’t much we can do without getting in trouble, so we need to be loud and smart.”
Throughout the Clark County School District, the following schools have executed peaceful, anti-ICE protests:
Legacy High School – Jan. 21 (ABC 13)
Valley High School – Jan. 21 (8 News Now – Las Vegas)
Canyon Springs High School – Jan. 21 (LV Review Journal)
Centennial High School – Jan. 21 (ABC 13)
Rancho High School – Jan. 21 (NBC Palm Springs)
Las Vegas Arts Academy – Jan. 21 (News 3 LV)
Desert Pines High School – Jan. 21 (8 News Now – Las Vegas)
Cheyenne High School – Jan. 21 (NBC Palm Springs)
Desert Rose High School – Jan. 21 (NBC Palm Springs)
Northwest Career And Technical Academy – Jan. 21 (ABC 13)
Equipo Academy – Jan. 23 (3 News)
Mater Academy East – Jan. 23 (KTNV Las Vegas)
Northeast Career and Technical Academy – Jan. 29 (ABC 13)
Western High School – Jan. 30 (News 3 LV)
Green Valley High School – Feb. 4 (Fox 5 Local)
Liberty High School – Feb. 13
Wednesday, Feb. 4, Green Valley High School set up and executed a walk out. Many students found out through an Instagram account created and others through friends. About 200 students were seen peacefully protesting while Henderson police managed traffic. One student from GVHS who participated, Maliya Florence, speaks about this day.
“I feel like everyone has a right to spread their voice. Them arranging the walkout is like us kids still showing that we have a voice and able to show what’s really going on and affecting everyone.”
CCSD Students have used their freedom with the entire community lately to protest against ICE and make themselves heard.
Early Wednesday morning, Jan. 7, 2026 – Renée Nicole, an American Woman, was shot and killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota by ICE agent Jonathan Ross. Stopped on the side of the street, Good was inside of her car when the agent approached her vehicle. Other agents began to approach, ordering her to step out the car and then proceeding to reach through the driver’s side window. Good began to reverse her car and head right, at the same time Ross had been standing by the front left side of the vehicle. In Minnesota, police are referred to as “peace officers” and ICE agents are “federal law enforcement officers”. According to The Boston Globe, “police officers are routinely trained not to stand in front of vehicles when there is a driver in that vehicle who could accelerate at any moment” As the car began to move and turn away from him, Ross fired 3 shots killing her. Law Enforcement officers and President Donald Trump have defended the shooting and called it an act of self defense. CBS News reported, Good was run over, hospitalized, and in recovery from internal bleeding to the torso. Accounts of the shooting had been contested by journalists, bystanders, and democracy party lawmakers, some of which also called criminal proceedings against Ross. (Read More)
A Junior who is actively enrolled here at Liberty, Lila Drazba, says “Their actions against Renee Nicole Good, U.S citizen, truly shows how messed up ICE and this country really is. The ICE agent had no right to fire his gun at someone who is just trying to drive away and de-escalate the situation. This sickening murder shows that federal agents should not be held to a lower standard than local police. People come here for freedom and opportunity, not to be treated like an object and lose their loved ones.”
Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026 – Alex Pretti was shot and killed by an ICE agent. Civilians were standing near when another person was being detained, Pretti can be seen in footage recording the situation happening on his phone. Both him and another person who The New York Times calls “Civilian with Orange backpack” had been pushed to the side of the street, after a second push the person with the backpack fell to the floor. Pretti on the other hand, just a couple seconds later was pepper sprayed. As several seconds passed, detainment happened, he was taken to the ground by 7 agents. One empty handed reaches for him, another holds him restrained, and a third repeatedly pepper spraying him. An eighth agent appears, another then proceeds to see and pull a gun from Pretti who legally was licensed to carry a handgun. The first shot fired, it aimed at his back. Then an agent standing directly above him while still being restrained and on his knees, shoots again, then 3 more times. As they begin to back away with Pretti inert, another 6 shots are fired. “At least 10 shots appear to have been fired within five seconds.” wrote The New York Times.
Kristi Noem, secretary of the DHS, commented about Pretti’s involvement in a press conference on Jan. 24. “An individual approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun. The officers attempted to disarm this individual, but the armed suspect reacted violently. Fearing for his life and for the lives of his fellow officers around him, an agent fired defensive shots.”
In January, public attention and protests centered on the deaths of Renée Good and Alex Pretti, two of several people who have died during federal immigration enforcement actions across the country.
Geraldo Lunas Campos – Jan. 3, 2026 (ice.gov)
Luis Gustavo Núñez Cáceres – Jan. 5, 2026 (ice.gov)
Luis Beltrán Yáñez–Cruz – Jan. 6, 2026 (ice.gov)
Renée Nicole Macklin Good – Jan. 7, 2026 (NBC News)
Parady La – Jan. 9, 2026 (ice.gov)
Heber Sánchez Domínguez – Jan. 14, 2026 (ice.gov)
Víctor Manuel Díaz – Jan. 14, 2026 (ice.gov)
Alex Jeffrey Pretti – Jan. 24, 2026 (BBC)
Jan. 20, 2026, In Minneapolis at the Ramos family house, Liam Conejo Ramos, a 5-year-old boy, was detained on his way home after school. The photo of him that’s circulated around the internet shows an agent holding his backpack in front of a black SUV. The details of his outfit had brought the public to the situation more. A Spiderman backpack and a bright blue beanie with bunny ears had become a major detail symbolizing how little he was. His dad had also been detained. Both were taken to Dilley family detention center in South Texas by plane, traveling over 1,300 miles. While inside, reports have said Ramos was becoming sad and had trouble eating what was given to him. He was vomiting and having stomach pain due to the quality of food he received. Ramos began to ask for his mom and slept a lot inside the facility, all resulting in his health “deteriorating ” , said his mother, Erika Ramos. At the same time of his detention, a video circled the internet and news sites of his classmates reading aloud letters they wrote to ICE. One child said “I think as a community, we should respect people’s homes and the people themselves.”
In January, reported by the Columbia Heights Public Schools district, Ramos was not the only student within their district that had been detained, he was one out of at least 7 children according to multiple sources. Others include a fourth grader who was on her way to school, brothers in second and fifth grade whose mother was taken into custody, a 10-year-old girl, and two 17-year-old teenagers. one taken from the families apartment while the other was removed from his car while driving to school.
Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, more than a thousand people either walked or skated to the icy surface of Lake Bde Maka Ska, to spell out SOS in order to convey a message. Using candles and lanterns, each letter lengthened around the size of a football field. Kevin Johnson, the organizer of this event was inspired to act on this after the shooting of Alex Pretii. People showed up dancing to silent disco, delivering a sense of joy and togetherness. Johnson also followed the protest with a statement, “I was so angry, and somehow born from that, I wanted to do something that wasn’t just clashy protesting. I wanted to do something that sent a message to the world,”.
Feb. 4, 2026, Duluth Public schools and Fridley Public schools, joined Education Minnesota Union, to sue the DHS for their immigration actions, not only around but in schools as well. Families started to question if their child’s school was a safe and reliable place for them to be during the day, leaving a result in some to decrease in attendance. Superintendent of Fridley Public Schools, Brenda Lewis, claims members of the board and herself are being followed by ICE agents and others are having vehicles sitting outside their home all day. This lawsuit has alleged that the Trump administration did not follow the right procedure to change a policy.
“ICE is not going to schools to arrest children–we are protecting children. Criminals are no longer able to hide in America’s schools to avoid arrest.” – Tricia Mclaughlin: The assistant secretary of The Department of Homeland Security. (Youtube)
Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, Ice Out Vegas (IOV), created by students and made for students, organized an after school protest lasting 2 hours for schools in the county. Found on instagram, posts had been spreading through stories and multiple accounts with information and ICE OUT posters. After school, students around many CCSD schools gathered at the designated meeting place to begin a peaceful protest. Brandon Paulino, a senior enrolled here at Liberty, was a big part of coordinating this event and leading everyone around the lot. He spoke out about it clearly through his instagram stories and in an interview. Paulino stated
“After the protest, I felt extremely proud and grateful. I couldn’t think that people actually showed up. I thought it was going to be a few people here and there, but the number of people that actually came made me so joyful.”
Liberty followed this protest right after school up until a little after 3 p.m. A “Liberty Anti-Ice Protest” group chat started to help with organizing and spreading the information. This resulted in students meeting in the front standing around and on the nearest brick box. Many students came together and made signs that all said different things. A few signs wrote things like “ICE is KKK spelt differently”, “Abolish ICE” and “Lo único más poderoso que el odio es el amor”, a Spanish expression meaning “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.” Working with 5 other students according to Kayla Gabay during the last period, a pile of about 45 signs were made, not including ones that were homemade.
Students marched around the front of the school as a group until they eventually stood on the corner of Bermuda and E Liberty Heights Ave.
Students like Brandon Paulino, Lennon Askew, Kai Jensen, and Justin Ford use their voices to lead chants at the event. According to students, their voices were audible for more than 100 yards away. One Junior, Markus Osby, didn’t just show up with any poster, instead with a friend of his, they held about a 3×5 Mexican flag. Immediately the boys were asked to be in the front of the march so everyone could see it. When stopped on the corner, they stood with the flag in a place to be seen clearly by everyone driving by. Many onlookers honked and some screamed supportive comments out their windows.
For this article, 45 people were interviewed, these were the statistics on how many have or have not been racially profiled before.
Collection of CCSD student opinions:
“ICE has caused more harm than good. They have ripped families apart and installed fear in communities. More people need to speak out about ICE and spread awareness on how detrimental they are to America.” – Mia Lin
“Don’t trust man, but trust God. ICE will one day be taken down. It’s all about your faith and trust in the man above. Be optimistic, be positive, be willing, be a light in this cruel and wicked world.” – Christian Johnson
“ICE isn’t protecting anybody. ICE is tearing families apart, people are losing lives and getting assaulted by ICE. If you are currently supporting ICE and what they’re doing please know that these “illegal aliens” could be your best friend, a teacher, a coworker, your boss, or even a loved one.” – Anonymous
“I would like to send my prayers to every family who has been affected by ICE. Please do not give up hope and know that many families are standing by your side and are outraged by the treatment towards you and your loved ones.” – Lia Amago
“Wake up everyone!” – Cedana Punzal
“ICE is not America. ICE is not safe. ICE does not condemn criminals. They take lives, families, and hearts away from the country that is meant to be all about freedom…Racial profiling plus the discrimination of numerous ethnic groups and or minorities, blind killings that go absolutely unpunished, widespread raids to wipe out a certain group of people. History has repeated itself once more, and it is not good.” – Acid Taylor
“I know it’s stressful and scary seeing all of the horrible news and encounters people have had with ICE, but the more we use our voices, the more we can hopefully try and stop this awful stuff from happening. Let’s keep our heads up.” – Anonymous
“Immigration enforcement needs reform, accountability, and humanity. Laws should be enforced without fear, discrimination, or breaking apart families.” – Anonymous
“The impact of ICE goes far beyond enforcement. Families are separated, communities live in fear, and trust is broken. Any system meant to uphold the law should also uphold human dignity and compassion.” – Sarahi Reyes
“I hope this country gets it together and the impact of ICE has been very negative. I have seen a lot of people scared and it has caused a lot of trauma for people that haven’t even done anything wrong.” – Anonymous
“Don’t lose hope because governments cannot last forever.” – Lennon Askew
“If ICE is taking all the criminals away that do harm, they’re just being racist at that point. Many people have argued with me that every single person they took away were criminals and needed to be punished. “They all chose to come illegally” false. Some of them didn’t get to choose to come here and if they did they were running away from a bad house or wanted their children here to get an opportunity to succeed. ICE is honestly ripping apart America from the inside. It’s scaring the people and ripping people apart and showing everyone’s true colors. What I can say for sure though is, ICE is not good. What they have done in the past few days. They are a terrorist group” – Miguel Castro
“Remember that we are all people, and all deserving of human liberties. No one should be killed for wanting a better life. Stay hopeful, look to the future, and work to make it better than today.” – Zelah Mata
“With ICE and Trump, they are deporting immigrants and U.S citizens who have done no harm to this country. Even though Obama deported immigrants, he deported immigrants who committed very harsh crimes and felonies, not immigrants who make our country a better place.” – Lila Drazba
“To those who have to worry and be treated like this, it’s not fair and know this. We will keep fighting for justice and equality.” – Piper Barnette
“What is going on is terrible and needs to be paid more attention to. ICE is hurting our country and hurting families. I want everyone to continue being safe, and continue speaking out.” – Mia Hafen
“To those who are fearful of ICE or know people who have been taken, injured, or profiled against, we see you. And to those who support ICE, just think about how it would feel if your mother or your father, or a dearly beloved were shot and killed.” – Anonymous
“ICE is not here to protect us, they’re here to scare us and make us fear the government…They do not care, all they care about is feeling power. This was never about criminals because one is sitting in the white house. This is about not wanting “illegals” in the country. No one is illegal on stolen land.” – Anonymous
“ICE agents are just the same as any other type of law enforcement, just different fields. If you come into this country illegally then you will be sent back just like every other country on the planet. I will say that there are some things we could make more efficient when it comes to the whole process for legal citizenship but still, do things legally, just as my father and his parents did. And to anyone, please do your research on a topic before you make your statements on anything like the recent incident where a five year old was “detained and used for bait“, it is crucial for people to work on the truth and not the fake truth that the media bends.” – Gus S
“Why take people away from their families? They’ve already come all this way just to get to America. Now why yall think it’s right to just come into peoples homes, schools, etcetera? This is not right. There’s little kids out here losing their parents, losing the people they’re supposed to call family…It’s not right. People deserve to be free…Too many families live in constant fear of sudden detention, separation, and deportation, even when they have deep roots, jobs, and children here. Policies that rely on raids and aggressive enforcement don’t just affect undocumented individuals, they traumatize kids, destabilize neighborhoods, and make people afraid to report crimes or seek medical care.” – Anonymous
“I think ICE is so stupid because how are people gonna take “immigrants” out of America when it’s stolen land. People are literally afraid of walking out of their own house because of it, just to do everyday basic things. They aren’t even supposed to kill immigrants, and they are not just killing immigrants but innocent people too.¨ – Scarlet Nicklas
“ICE is not helping Americans, they are only inflicting harm by killing Americans who are peacefully protesting, which makes ICE a terrorist group funded by our own government…It doesn’t matter if you are illegal you can still get killed as seen in the two murders in Minnesota.” – Kyle Ficht
“ICE defendants need to realize that we aren’t against its purpose, but its execution, being blatantly racist and needlessly violent. It’s meant to contribute to safety for the nation’s citizens, not foster fear.” – Kayla Gabay
“Stay prepared! Stay vigilant and don’t roam around alone if you can help it!” – Anonymous
“This impacts so many people, their family and friends, and I have friends that have been in serious situations with ICE and it’s not fun. It is a serious thing going on right now that needs to stop, and it has been getting worse and worse.” – Taylee Deschaine
“I believe that everybody should be aware and educated on how detrimental ICE’s actions are. Innocent people are being murdered, traumatized, and left physically damaged. Some victims are even children. Families are being split apart and people are afraid that one day they’ll be next. Please be careful and know what to do if you’re put in a situation with ICE. Personally, I also fear for my friends and I due to us being people of color. New laws need to be implemented because the current legal ones are being broken.” – Christine Beishir
“I would like to share, everyone to stay and remain safe and to know their rights. With the acts that are going on in our world right now, it’s extremely inhumane and sick, no matter where anyone comes from. Nobody deserves to be treated like this ever. That’s why I believe a lot of people need to revise and go over their rights and laws at this time so that others can be aware and prepared on how to protect themselves, family, and others from these types of situations.” – Astou Jallow
“When one group is committing violent acts from ideas stemming from domestic influence such as race, that is the definition of domestic terrorism as defined by the FBI. So if ICE is a domestic terrorism group, why are they supported by the federal government other than a personal agenda?” – Peyton Burtsell
“ICEs impact goes far beyond enforcement in my opinion because they have caused real human suffering. Families are torn apart, children live in constant fear, and entire communities are traumatized. The threat of deportation forces people into silence, afraid to seek help, medical care, or justice. Instead of creating safety, ICE spreads more fear, pain, and distrust, than anything, leaving lasting scars on individuals and communities alike.” – Kori Dalere
“While everyone is sitting around listening to the things ICE does to families, children, and communities, it’s easy to forget there’s always something deeper going on. When fear gets too normalized, everyone gets hurt and people stop feeling safe in their own homes. Everyone deserves the right to live without fear dictating and running their lives.” – Jhasia Matias
“ICE has been terrorizing people for years now, but the jump to where we are now is drastic. They are stripping people away from their families, harassing innocent people, and killing some in the process as well. This isn’t normal for someone just “doing their job”. We’re past that. If you’re acting like it’s normal, where you’re coming from is a place of privilege and acting as though it’s the truth. That cannot continue clouding your view of reality. People are dying, our government is failing, we cannot act blind to this anymore. It is happening and it is real.” – Sadie Scott
“ICE shouldn’t be detaining little kids and elderly people. I mean if they were born in America the ICE agents could ask them for a birth certificate and shouldn’t be taking people out of their cars, work, homes. ICE shouldn’t be like this and it’s leaving a bad reputation for America and its citizens and ICE should be stopped at all costs and anybody who came to America for freedom should get freedom, illegally or not, everyone should get rights and freedom.” – Deshawn Williams
“No one is illegal on stolen land…We need ICE out.” – Anonymous
“Despite ICE not immediately affecting me and my life, it is and will eventually to some of my close friends. I personally believe that whether or not you know what’s happening in the world right now, you should have the heart to know that ICE should not have a say over anyone that they deem “illegal”. No family deserves to be ripped apart, there is no morality in the methods of brutality ICE stands for.” – Gavin Quinto
“ICE is a terrible organization that isn’t deporting “the bad people”, they’re kidnapping people and separating families. I wouldn’t wish that pain on anyone but I hope people who have supported our administration see the pain families are going through at this time and realize they’re supporting a felon.” – Kai Jensen
“Everyone is just human. It’s just that simple. There should be no unfair treatment just because of where someone comes from, or what language they speak, or even how they look. Everyone has dreams, fears, family, or even someone they deeply care about in their life, so to see ICE ripping families apart is cruel and evil. No one ever deserves to be dehumanized for where they’re from or the way they look. ICE is destroying basic human rights everybody has.” – Abby Piston
“I think it’s the fact how bad this dates back just to a couple decades ago but it only just gets worse. I don’t understand how anyone is racist. It’s just out there, blatantly. I mean yeah to your friends and family you make small jokes about it, I can understand that. I mean, it’s just you trying to be humorous, but as a hate crime?…I mean imagine people just being hateful over something that’s as basic as what crayon shade someone is or should be. Like as if an apple’s color is actually meant to be red or green, but get this, it’s the same on the inside, it still tastes the same whether you like it or not. Just because someone doesn’t look like you on the outside, it’s what on the inside that matters.” – Carisabel Ollarvia
“ICE is inhumane and disgusting. ICE is harming families around the world, tearing apart families, and killing innocent individuals. ICE should not be allowed anywhere. Children should not be scared to leave their homes, fearful of being taken away.” – Anonymous
“ICE is unlawful and against basic human rights and morals. ICE is ripping apart families with children that need their parents. If there was an easy way to lawfully come into the U.S then there would not be a problem with how many undocumented people there are. Immigrants are humans, not aliens.” – Sophie F
“Nobody is illegal on stolen land! We are not aliens! We are humans!…We are getting treated as criminals for the way we talk, the way we dress, and the way we look. We are in fear for our lives. We are being ripped apart. We are Americans, we bleed the same color. You have a voice so use it and let’s end this nightmare!” – Sophia Gonzales
“ICE can have many harmful effects on families and individuals. When people are detained and deported, families get separated, children are affected, and many people feel fear and instability. ICE has done more harm than good and they are causing emotional and financial damage to many people that have done no harm.” – Maddy Moore
“Though I do live in a white family, ICE still affects me so much. I have so many friends that are scared of anyone in their families being deported, and it breaks my heart knowing some of those people in their family are the nicest people ever. I know if one of my friends ever got deported I would break down in tears not knowing if I’d ever see them again or if they’d even be okay. The fear of knowing ICE is in vegas tears me apart, knowing so many families are being torn apart from each other, and people getting killed over our government. This has to stop before it gets even worse.” – Nathan Parker
“I think that everyone should try to be careful and as safe as possible. There has been a lot going on in the world and the danger is only growing so it’s best to stay safe.” – Faye Gibson
“ICE isn’t enforcement. It’s inhumane and strips every one of the rights and the progress we’ve fought for since the beginning of this nation. Don’t be afraid to stand up for what you believe in and stand together.” – Ashton Domingo
“ICE is a really stupid thing to do in your life because you are getting paid to deport, and you’re basically separating them from their families and then don’t even care about them.” – Elisha Manalansan
