About 60 Washington Union Students March to Fresno City Hall Against ICE

About 50–60 students from Washington Union High School in Easton left campus and marched to Fresno City Hall on Monday to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, drawing attention to local fears about immigration enforcement and its effects on families.

ABC30 located the school at Elm and American avenues near Easton and reported the students left class in a coordinated walkout tied to a national call to action the previous Friday. An on-the-ground video caption and the original report described the group as “approximately 60 students,” while the Hanford Sentinel reported “about 50 students” and said the walkout occurred during the lunch break. The original report said the march covered roughly eight miles to downtown Fresno.

Students carried signs and chanted as they walked to downtown Fresno to call attention to immigration enforcement practices they oppose. The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office checked on the students and told ABC30 the protest remained peaceful, and Fresno Police confirmed the Washington Union group walked downtown.

Student voices gave the action a personal edge. One unnamed senior told ABC30, “I’m a senior and this is my last year and I just want to do something bigger than myself.” Jareni Solano, a sophomore, said, “I’m an Oaxaqueña and I think that it’s really important that if you stand by your ethnicity and really truly support it, no matter if in good times or bad times, in the bad times, you should be using your voice to support your community.”

The Washington Union action was part of a larger pattern across Fresno on Monday. The Hanford Sentinel reported “More than 1,000 Fresno high-school students walked out of their campuses on Monday to protest ICE and President Trump’s deportation crackdown.” That coverage tied local walkouts to a so-called national shutdown general strike organized after incidents in Minneapolis, which the Sentinel said included protests over the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents.

Fresno Unified urged parents to talk with their children about safety and encouraged students to express themselves safely. The district also noted that Hoover High students notified school administrators in advance of a planned walkout, and other high schools such as Fresno High and Sunnyside had staged protests the previous Friday.

Washington Union High School did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Local law enforcement described the march as peaceful, and school officials reiterated guidance about the risks of walking on public streets during school hours.

For Fresno County residents, the walkout underscores ongoing tensions between immigrant communities and federal enforcement efforts, and the potential public-health and safety implications when school-based activism brings students into traffic and public spaces. Expect continued student-led demonstrations as national calls for action persist, and heed Fresno Unified’s advice to families to discuss safety and civic engagement as the district and local agencies monitor further activity.