Page High School students stage mass walkout in Greensboro over ICE

Hundreds of students at Paul Laurence Page High School in Greensboro left classrooms and converged on the school’s football field in the early afternoon on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, to protest federal immigration enforcement. “A Page High student alerted WFMY News 2 that a walkout was scheduled for 1:45 p.m. on Thursday,” and “A WFMY News 2 photographer at the scene saw hundreds of students demonstrating, some holding signs, as they walked onto the school's football field,” according to local reporting and a credited WFMY image.

The Page High demonstration was described by multiple outlets as opposition to ICE and broader federal immigration enforcement actions, and social posts amplified the scene in real time. An Instagram post read, “New at four, hundreds of students at Page High School walked out of class this afternoon to protest recent federal immigration enforcement,” while a Facebook post stated, “Students at Page High in Greensboro walked out of class Thursday afternoon in protest of ICE and federal immigration enforcement.”

Local reporting situates the Page High action in a wider pattern: WFMY and syndicated copies noted that Page High was one of several North Carolina schools holding anti-ICE walkouts that week, with AC Reynolds High and TC Roberson High in Asheville also reported to have staged similar demonstrations. The contemporaneous timing and shared focus on federal immigration enforcement signal a regional student response to recent enforcement activity.

Available accounts do not report any arrests, injuries, or official school disciplinary actions tied to the Feb. 19 walkout, and the reports include no statements from Page High administration or Guilford County Schools. The absence of school and district comment in the published coverage leaves open questions about student supervision, attendance accounting, and whether counselors or school health staff were engaged during or after the demonstration.

The protest also raises public health and equity considerations for Greensboro and Guilford County: mass gatherings of “hundreds” of students on a school athletic field can strain on-site supervision and support services, and protests centered on immigration enforcement reflect community anxieties that intersect with health access and social services for immigrant families. Reports did not include responses from ICE or federal agencies about the enforcement actions that students protested.

As follow-up reporting, I will seek comment from Page High administrators and Guilford County Schools to confirm timing, participant counts, and any disciplinary or safety measures taken; request photos and video from WFMY News 2 to document the scene; and contact Greensboro police and federal agencies for any reaction. I will also attempt to reach student organizers and to verify the timing and scale of the reported walkouts at AC Reynolds High and TC Roberson High in Asheville.

The Feb. 19 walkout at Page High School represents a concentrated student response to federal immigration enforcement in Greensboro, and coverage will continue as officials, school leaders, and students respond and clarify what changes, if any, emerge for campus safety, counseling, and community outreach.