Helena High and Capital Students Walk Out Protesting Federal Immigration Enforcement

Around two dozen students from Helena High School and Capital High School walked out of classes and staged demonstrations at the intersection of Billings and North Montana avenues and the corner of Montana Avenue and Custer Avenue to protest recent actions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The protests occurred Thursday morning, Feb. 19, and mirrored demonstrations reported across other cities.

Students marched and gathered on sidewalks near the two campuses chanting “ICE out” while holding signs that included the message “NO HUMAN IS ILLEGAL.” Passing drivers honked in support and some expressed criticism, and community members stopped by both sites with pizza and warm snacks as temperatures hovered between 10 and 15 degrees during the morning hours, KTVH reported.

Attendance estimates varied by outlet; KTVH reported “around two dozen” students at the Helena High location while the Independent Record described “a few dozen” and Northern Broadcasting described “dozens.” Local police and Helena School District officials remained on site during the demonstrations to ensure student safety, and Northern Broadcasting noted that no arrests were reported during the Feb. 19 events.

Madison Merrill, a sophomore at Helena High, said the walkout was meant to show community support and exercise constitutional rights. “We just want to show every support we can for all of our friends, all of our parents, grandparents, those who came before us, because I think this is like the most American thing we can do protesting, our First Amendment, come on,” Merrill told KTVH.

The Feb. 19 walkouts followed an earlier planned protest that was canceled this month after authorities discovered a suspected improvised explosive device near Helena High. Montana Free Press reported the earlier item as a “fireworks-and-gasoline ‘device’” and quoted student organizer Nasset saying school staff pulled her from class about 45 minutes before the canceled protest. “They thought it would be in my best interest to cancel the protest,” Nasset said, adding, “And it was upsetting to hear, but my priority is always our students’ safety.” Nasset told Montana Free Press she hopes to work with law enforcement to plan another walkout and planned to join a protest at the state Capitol Thursday afternoon.

The Independent Record linked the local demonstrations to federal immigration crackdowns the Trump administration has undertaken in other cities, framing the Helena actions within a broader national debate over ICE enforcement. Organizers and student leaders said they intend to press their concerns through future demonstrations, including coordination with law enforcement for safety at any planned events.