Students at Central High School protested against Immigration and Customs Enforcement Jan. 20.  

Many students stood along Dodge Street defending the rights of immigrants. They believed immigrants do not need to be deported because many people have lived here for more than 20 years, some have family and friends, and many have jobs here. They say there are reasons for why immigrants flee their countries and hope for a better life here.  

Students at Central organized the protest to speak up about what’s going on and why it is wrong. That day there were two main protesters, junior Alaina Manzer and freshman Kortez Glover.  

Manzer believed, “it was a good thing that we were loud and proud during the protest.”  

“By protesting I want to show how much I care about other cultures and other skin colors and races should all be treated the same,” Glover said.  

In Central there are many Latino and immigrant students. Latino students make up 35.1% of students, according to OPS, and there were 667 people who spoke Spanish at home in 2024-25, and 39 languageswere spoken by students.  `