Students across every high school in the Capistrano Unified School District had the opportunity to participate in a student-led walkout against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on January 30th, 2026.

San Juan Hills High School, Tesoro High School, Dana Hills High School, Aliso Niguel High School, San Clemente High School, and Capistrano Valley High School all participated and joined more than a dozen schools across the state in the matter.

Specifically at San Juan Hills, students gathered together during break near the flagpole, and peacefully walked off campus to join volunteers from Orange County Indivisible Coalition at the In-In-Out.

They encouraged people to bring signs, flags, and cultural attire to represent their backgrounds and opinions, in a peaceful way.

According to organizers, the protest was meant to raise awareness about immigration enforcement, and show solidarity with immigrant students and their families in the community. 

“Since illegal immigrants can’t vote, they can’t voice their opinions. The only way they can be heard is through people like me or people who are willing to speak out for them,” said Louie Mendez Mellow.

The walkout was set up primarily through social media, with information shared on Instagram accounts run by student organizers. 

“A lot of people were talking about the protest at school, and then I saw this post about it that popped up on my instagram feed,” said Anthony Pacheco.

Posts were made that outlined expectations for peaceful participation and word spread in the days leading up to the event. This contributed to the coordination and turnout across multiple campuses. 

At San Juan Hills, school administrators informed students, parents, and staff that participation in the walkout would not result in disciplinary action. Students were not to be marked truant, be prevented from leaving campus, or punished for attending the walkout.

District officials confirmed that students would not be prosecuted for participating in the demonstration as well. With that reassurance, the focus shifted to the wanted outcome of the protest. 

“I hope the outcome will be that our senators or congressmen will see that their constituents are upset about this and hopefully pass some legislation to restrict ICE’s power,” said Ethan Davenport.

The protest remained peaceful as the students walked through San Juan Capistrano with the guidance of Orange County Indivisible volunteers.   

Once the demonstration concluded, participants expressed hope that this protest would draw attention to immigration enforcement policies and prompt elected officials to consider legislative changes.