Anti-ICE Protests Erupt Across Northeast Ohio in Organized School Campus Walkouts

CLEVELAND, OH — Students at multiple Northeast Ohio school campuses walked out of classes Thursday afternoon to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions and federal immigration enforcement policies, joining a broader wave of youth‑led demonstrations that began earlier this week.

Walk‑outs at Glenville High School, John Hay High School, the John Marshall Campus, Wickliffe High School, Cleveland School of the Arts, Cleveland Heights–University Heights schools, Facing History New Tech High School and the Garrett Morgan Campus began at or shortly after 2:00 p.m., according to the Cleveland branch of the Party of Socialism and Liberation. Students at Case Western Reserve University participated in a similar walk‑out on Wednesday. The coordinated actions followed national demonstrations tied to opposition to ICE and related enforcement practices.

Organizers and participants framed the actions under messaging that included demands such as “ICE Out of Our Cities” and described the protests as expressions of solidarity with immigrant families amid heightened national focus on immigration enforcement. Many students said they coordinated the walk‑outs through social media and peer networks rather than through formal school channels.

Some participants expressed concern about safety and possible retaliation from law enforcement, particularly when considering marching into busier city corridors or downtown areas. Students at Cleveland School of the Arts discussed avoiding main streets and heavily policed zones as they moved through neighborhoods near school campuses.

Turnout varied by campus, with groups ranging from small clusters of students to larger assemblies leaving class together, gathering outside school buildings and marching short distances nearby. As of Thursday evening, no major incidents, arrests or reported violence had been confirmed in connection with the walk‑outs, and no counter‑protests were reported.

The demonstrations in Northeast Ohio are part of a nationwide pattern of student and worker protests this week, often linked to what participants and some media outlets are calling the “Free America” walk‑out movement. In Cleveland, the student actions followed community rallies and university participation earlier in the week, reflecting sustained momentum.

Organizers indicated that additional actions could follow, though no further dates or locations were formally announced Thursday. School districts had not released consolidated statements addressing the walk‑outs as of Thursday evening.

U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown, D‑Ohio, weighed in on the controversy surrounding federal immigration enforcement on Thursday evening after the protests, saying she voted No this week on a House bill that would have funded U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Brown said in an email to Cleveland 13 News that she believes “every day, ICE and CBP under the Trump Administration are committing new abuses with no accountability, no respect for the law, and no regard for civil rights,” and that she will “not support another cent for agencies that continue to terrorize our communities, commit abuses, and escalate violence.”

Brown criticized the broader funding framework that has increased resources for immigration enforcement, saying the Republican‑backed Reconciliation Bill passed last year gave ICE an additional $75 billion in funding, which she called a “ICE slush fund” that should be repealed in favor of other priorities. She also outlined policy changes she supports, including impeaching ICE leadership, requiring body cameras and proper identification for agents, and barring ICE enforcement from churches and schools, tying her position to what she described as a growing national outcry over enforcement tactics and incidents such as recent confrontations and fatal encounters involving federal agents.

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