–Councilman Izzy Patoka shared a photo of the students protest at Perry Hall High School-
Protests took place all over Maryland and at most Baltimore County high schools on Friday as students protested ICE operations.
Baltimore County Police, Office of Emergency Management, and Baltimore County Public Schools said they all remained in close communication during today’s walkouts.
According to police, officers and school administrators were present on school campuses.
There was a protest by Perry Hall students on its high school campus and they were joined by County Executive candidate Izzy Patoka
“High schoolers shouldn’t have to fear that their friends could disappear at the hands of ICE agents. Yet throughout Baltimore County today, students marched anyway — in the cold, in the open and with courage,” Patoka wrote on social media.
“The First Amendment doesn’t disappear at the schoolhouse door. Students have the right to speak out and protest peacefully.*
The protest received mixed comments from parents. Some parents were proud that students exercised their right to protest. Other parents questioned why this protest was allowed during classroom hours.
District 7A Del. Kathy Szeliga also questioned why BCPS allowed students to class to protest ICE — during instructional time.
“If civic engagement is the goal, why not after school? Or on the weekend,” Szeliga said in a statement.
“Because this isn’t about education, it’s about politics. Taxpayer-funded classrooms are becoming staging grounds for activism while academics slide.”
Police said the vast majority of students demonstrated peacefully and remained on school property.
Students who left school grounds were in violation of school policy.
According to police, one student was arrested during one of the demonstrations, which were not school or system sanctioned.
