Baltimore students stage anti-ICE midday walkout, blocking streets during school

Dozens of students left classes midday Thursday at the current Baltimore City College campus at the University of Baltimore and marched to Pearlstone Park, carrying signs and chanting demands to ban local law enforcement collaboration with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement through 287(g) agreements. The action was organized by Students Organizing a Multicultural Open Society, known as SOMOS, and planners set a 1:30 p.m. start for the march.

Organizers framed the walkout as solidarity with people protesting ICE actions in Minneapolis and as an attempt to draw the attention of state and federal lawmakers to legislative limits on ICE practices in Maryland. Baltimore City College students and supporters from other area schools participated in the route from the University of Baltimore campus to Pearlstone Park, with participant estimates varying by account.

Baltimore County and school officials say staff and school safety personnel supervised parts of the protest. BCPS communicated to families in language that was published by district representatives: "Most of the students who participated in the walkout conducted themselves appropriately during this time. A small group of students chose not to follow the agreed‑upon parameters and did not reenter the building. Unfortunately, one student engaged in disruptive and dangerous behavior and was arrested by Baltimore County police for leaving campus and obstructing traffic. Students that violated the Code of Conduct will be subject to consequences in alignment with the BCPS Student Handbook and Board policy." A BCPS spokesperson added, "Our school is committed to providing a safe and supportive environment for all students, and we will continue to work together to ensure that our students feel heard, respected, and valued."

A substitute teacher who accompanied some demonstrators used a chant in Spanish: "Cuidado con el hielo, which means 'Watch out with ICE,'" as students marched. A student described classroom preparation for the action, saying, "My English teacher provided us [with] posters."

Law enforcement involvement and discipline differed by location. Baltimore County police arrested one student for leaving campus and obstructing traffic, a charge the district cited in its communications about a separate student‑led walkout at George Washington Carver Center for Arts & Technology that took place Friday morning. BCPS described the Carver event as not school‑ or system‑sanctioned but supervised by staff and a school resource officer to ensure student safety.

Not all accounts agree on school identity, scale, or police posture. An alternate account named Patterson High School and characterized the walkout as "indoctrination over education," citing proficiency rates of 12 percent in math and 32 percent in reading, and described students as "seizing streets, blocking traffic, and harassing drivers while police stood by." Other coverage described the action citywide as reaching "hundreds" of students; a WBAL‑TV Facebook post of march footage logged roughly 149,000 views and more than 2,200 comments, including public reactions such as "I think, now hear me out… I think some of them just wanted out of class" and "Wait, kids in Baltimore go to school??"

Students with SOMOS said the protest was meant to pressure legislators to change policy; school and county officials say they will pursue discipline in line with the BCPS Student Handbook for those who violated campus rules.