Protests, walkouts over federal immigration enforcement held across Bay Area

By Tim Fang

Protests and student walkouts were taking place in communities throughout the Bay Area on Friday, condemning federal immigration enforcement.

The demonstrations are part of what activists are calling a nationwide “ICE Out” Day of Action, referring to Immigration and Customs and Enforcement. Participants are being urged not to attend school, work or shop.

Activists said the protests were prompted by the recent killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents during recent immigration operations in Minneapolis and other incidents.

Among the demonstrations included a walkout at San Ramon Valley High School in Danville, in which an estimated 500 students left campus around 11:15 a.m. In addition to opponents of ICE, a smaller group of students in support of ICE also took part.

“Like Trump said he was going to go after criminals, and then he goes after innocent people and just starts going after the U.S. citizens as well. That is just not okay,” said student Yaretzi Gonzalez, who was holding a sign that read “No one is illegal on stolen land!”

“I think that due process is obviously important. I think that we should follow the law. Following the law is what unites Americans and brings them together,” said a counter protester.

The protest near San Ramon High was largely peaceful.

Along with the demonstrations, some businesses have taken part by shutting down for the day. Among the businesses that have closed include Manny’s and Four Barrel Coffee in the Mission District.

At Oakland’s Mercury 20 Gallery, artist Charlie Milgrim and about 20 fellow artists closed their studio, disrupting normal operations in what they described as an act of protest.

“We think that everything that’s happening right now in this country is very illegal, very dangerous,” Milgrim said.

In Berkeley, ACCI Gallery also shut down for the day. Board President Kirk McCarthy said the decision was not made lightly, noting the gallery paid its staff despite closing and risked losing significant revenue.

“We paid the staff. But it’s hard for our financial well-being. We don’t do this lightly. We do this for a political statement,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy added that the gallery could lose thousands of dollars and potentially face backlash from Trump supporters who may boycott the business in the future. Despite those concerns, he said the response from the community has largely been positive.

“The people that we’ve communicated with were supportive, and it was something that we had to do,” McCarthy said.

Demonstrators across the East Bay said they hope the national shutdown leads to long-term change and increased civic engagement.

“If we don’t stand up now and say ‘this is not right, we need to do the right thing’, then it’s going to come to your neighborhood,” Jessica Cadkin said.

With the midterm election approaching, demonstrators said they hope the protest will inspire more people to vote in November, adding that they want Democrats to regain control of either the House or the Senate.