At least 21 schools within the Tucson Unified School District are closed Friday due to staff shortages amid a nationwide protest against Immigration and…
As of Wednesday, student-led "ICE Outs" had taken place at roughly 20 high schools across Arizona.
The school walkouts are a precursor to a nationwide protest campaign that is set for Friday, Jan. 30.
The campaign stems from outrage over immigration enforcement tactics and ICE-related deaths that occurred earlier this month. Participants are asked to stay home from work and school and not shop on Friday.
Minneapolis-based Somali and Black student organizations started the event, and they are calling on students throughout the country to participate.
Demonstrators plan to hold a walkout at Arizona State University's Tempe campus on Friday, according to posts on social media.
ICE enforcement in Arizona
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Last week, the Department of Homeland Security purchased a massive warehouse in Surprise for over $70 million, ICE has plans for a 1,500-bed processing facility. -
Among them is a proposed county ordinance banning state, local and federal law enforcement from wearing masks. -
The policy was first laid out last summer and overturned when a federal judge found it violated a U.S. statute guaranteeing lawmakers the right to make unannounced visits to ICE facilities. -
The Phoenix Union High School District has posted a video online educating students and families about their rights when encountering ICE agents. -
Over 1,000 people gathered on the Arizona State University campus in Tempe on Friday as part of a coordinated nationwide protest against increasingly violent enforcement activities, particularly in Minneapolis. -
Businesses and schools across Tucson took part in the national strike, which called for people to stay home from work and school in protest of the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis this month, along with other ICE actions. -
Gov. Katie Hobbs on Thursday called the comments by Attorney General Kris Mayes about possible dangers from confrontations between citizens and law enforcement officers "inappropriate."
