On January 14th, 2026, hundreds of students from both St. Paul Public Schools (SPPS) and private schools congregated at the Capitol in order to protest the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minnesota.
Although the protest was initially planned for the 20th, the day of a larger state protest, student organizers not only wanted their walkout to stand out, but also wanted their impact to start immediately.
As Luke Hobday, one of Open World Learning’s student organizers, realized, this walkout was on everyone’s mind. Collaboration with other schools soon occurred through previous connections students had made. “A group chat was initially made with representatives from five schools,” says Hobday, “It ultimately got out, and this led to more representatives.” With that, the number of schools involved grew to over 30. “It was a large group effort,” he says, “Each school had its own people that made sure things went as planned.”
In order for the protest to occur, however, safety needed to be ensured. Students arranged to meet with community members experienced in safe protest tactics and learned how to protect themselves. “We established safe routes, safety marshals, supplies, and gave pre-march talks about following procedures,” Hobday states. Many of these marshals were those who had previously stood outside the building before and after the day as fear of ICE agents raiding the school arose.
Overall, the purpose of the protest was to make sure students were seen. “A lot of the time students feel like their opinion can’t change things, and that isn’t true,” he says assuredly, “The actions of students are a call to action to everyone else, and the terror that ICE is causing cannot be excused.” After students arrived at the capital, chants were cheered, students’ speeches were shared, and a community was formed.
Immediately following the walkout was the cancellation of two days of school the following week for SPPS students, teachers using it to plan online options for those who felt unsafe attending. Ultimately, Hobday has one thing to take away: “Stay safe and stay informed. More actions are being organized.”
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