More than 200 Wasatch High and Timpanogos and Rocky Mountain Middle school students protested at Heber’s City Park Thursday afternoon.
The students spoke against Trump administration policies and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). They walked along Main Street to the park waving handmade signs reading “Immigrants make America great,” and “No one is illegal on stolen land,” while chanting “ICE out.”
Most drivers honked in support. Others made obscene gestures and shouted profanities, including one man who yelled, “Go back to Mexico.”
Wasatch High sophomore Emely Anahi Marroquin Nava said she comes from a family of immigrants. She said students wanted to make their voices heard after Park City students walked out Jan. 30 for an ICE protest. Word about the effort spread through group chats and social media.
“We didn't want to be the ones that didn't raise our voices,” Nava told KPCW. “Immigrants came to this country for a better future for their children, and now they're being brought down to their knees, killed and slaughtered just because of our different skin or different language or accent.”
Nava said she’s worried about her little brother’s future, especially because ICE has detained people of all ages and citizenship status.
“Little kids are being brought to immigration, are being deported,” she said. “I would love to see my brother succeed in life, because he is still very little, and what's going on right now would probably cause him not to have a bright future.”
Melissa De La Cruz said her immigrant mother encouraged her to attend the protest, supporting her right to speak out.
“It's not OK that families are getting teared apart and it's not OK that it's happening for no reason when we have other criminals out there doing way worse things,” she said.
Allison Weller was one of a handful of parents there to support the students and help keep them safe.
She witnessed Heber City Police officers detain a young protester who had thrown a water bottle on the ground. As students objected, officers put the teen in a police vehicle and drove away.
“It was not anything egregious,” Weller said. “I deal with that at home as a mother, and I handle that by telling them to pick it up. It was poorly timed.”
The Heber Police Department had not returned KPCW’s requests for comment on circumstances surrounding the student’s detention as of Friday evening.
Weller said she brought water for the students and many helped her carry the bottles. She said they weren’t being violent but rather supportive.
“I'm just really proud of these kids,” Weller said. “All of them have worked really hard to be here and make sure they speak up for what they feel is right, and that's what we should be wanting from our kids. What else can we expect as parents, except for raising kids who know how to use their voices?”
The Wasatch County School District told parents Wednesday it knew about the planned protest. While the walkout was not district-sponsored, the district said it “recognize[s] that students may choose to express their perspectives.”
Classes continued as usual for students who didn’t join the demonstration. Students who walked out will be able to make up classwork they missed.
