Students in Rural Arizona Are Using Their First Amendment Rights, Reflecting a Long Tradition of Civic Engagement

Illustratred by Bryce Pol

In December 2025, Minnesota became the focus of a large-scale federal immigration crackdown known as Operation Metro Surge, carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection. The Department of Homeland Security described it as the largest immigration enforcement operation ever conducted.

During the operation, federal agents fatally shot two civilian protesters, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both U.S. citizens. The enforcement actions disrupted daily life across Minnesota, with schools switching to remote learning and ongoing arrests affecting families and local businesses. The deaths and the operation sparked mass demonstrations in Minneapolis and solidarity protests across the country, including walkouts organized by high school students.

In Arizona, those protests reached rural communities where speaking out and public protest are not always the norm. Nationally, the movement spread rapidly on social media, and many students, and community members, felt called to stand in solidarity with their peers in Minnesota for a mass walkout and strike. In towns such as Flagstaff, Yuma, Sierra Vista, and Casa Grande, high school students organized their own protests, walked out of their campuses and gathered on public sidewalks to protest ICE raids, federal immigration enforcement policies and the violence those policies have caused.

For many of these students, participating in the walkout felt necessary. 

“I was not unsure or scared of [walking out],” said a high school girl who held a megaphone during the Yuma High School protest in Yuma, Arizona. “Families have been torn apart. We need to hold humanity and justice above everything else. I know that what is more important is the people that are suffering in this country.” 

Jax Peynado-Campos, an adult who attended the Yuma High protest, said their role was to help ensure students remained safe.

“It is my duty as an adult that the kids are protesting peacefully and safely,” Peynado-Campos said. “They are utilizing their rights and their voices to be able to speak for justice for all.”

In Sierra Vista, Arizona, a student from Buena Vista High School emphasized that even small communities can make their voices heard.

“Being out here shows that there is community, no matter how small,” she said. “We live in a small retirement town, and there’s a lot of people who wouldn't think we’d have a show-out like this. It just goes to show how important this cause is for us. We’re willing to step up and show the community, the world, the leaders that we’re here and we’re ready to make a change, and we expect accountability and impact from them.”

Illustrated by Bryce Pol

Students across the state chanted phrases such as “No justice, no peace, get ICE off our streets” and “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here” as cars passed by. Some held signs reading “Abolish ICE” and “Pretti Good reason to walk out,” referencing Alex Pretti and Renee Good.

As coverage of the walkouts spread on local Facebook news pages, reactions were mixed.

Under a post by KYMA, a Yuma news station, one commenter wrote, “They all don't know what the hell [they’re] doing, just want to get out [of] class, this shouldn't even be on the news, pathetic!” On the Herald Review’s page in Sierra Vista, another user commented, “School needs to be held accountable for allowing children to do this!”

Others defended the students’ actions.

“Whether I agree with them or not, I can respect that they are doing what they believe in,” one commenter wrote. “It's their right, [it’s] their freedom of expression and their voice. Not everyone will agree with them but we can respect them.”

Another added, “I love that these kids are practicing their right to protest. The laws that grown ups make do affect them and they have a right to voice their grievances.”

What often gets lost in the criticism is the assumption that students don’t understand what they are protesting. That assumption is dismissive and historically inaccurate. Young people have never been politically unaware. They have always responded to the world around them, especially when policies directly affect their families and futures. They live with the consequences of immigration policy, gun laws, education funding, and government decisions every day. 

According to ACLU of Arizona Executive Director Victoria Lopez, student protest has long been a powerful force in American history. Lopez previously worked as the organization's Legal Director.

“Student protests have been such a powerful way to change things in this country over history,” said Lopez. “We’ve seen students protest wars, for police accountability, for immigration reform, for the rights of trans students. Young people, including students, have real-life experiences that form their relationship with the government, and they, like everyone else in this country, have the constitutional right to speak out and use their rights to be able to express their opinions about the government or about things that are impacting them, their schools, or their families.”

Student activism has repeatedly shaped national conversations. In 1965, students wore black armbands to protest the Vietnam War, leading to a landmark Supreme Court case affirming students’ free speech rights. In 2006, thousands of high school and middle school students walked out to protest H.R. 4437, legislation targeting undocumented immigrants. In 2018, nearly a million students nationwide participated in walkouts following the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, demanding stronger gun laws.

Lopez emphasized that while students do have First Amendment rights, those rights function differently in a school setting.

“It’s important for students to know that they have First Amendment rights,” said Lopez. “Schools have the right to create some rules so that those First Amendment activities of the student aren’t disruptive or cross any lines with respect to violence… but they can't punish students differently or more harshly just based on the content of their protest.”

Schools may enforce attendance policies or discipline students for unexcused absences, she explained, but they cannot impose consequences based solely on the content of a student’s protest or political speech.

“For young people, and students, to be out on the streets expressing their opinions and dissenting and opposing government action, it doesn’t come without risk,” said Lopez. “People shouldn’t see it as something that’s just a casual decision that young people are making.”

The ACLU of Arizona provides online resources outlining students’ First Amendment rights and guidance on how to engage in protests safely and lawfully. Students who believe their rights have been violated can file a complaint through the organization’s website for review by its legal team. Visit acluaz.org. 

Rural Arizona Engagement (RAZE) also holds community safety and Know Your Rights workshops around rural Arizona. To learn more, visit raze.org/protectourpueblos. 

Despite criticism from some community members, rural Arizona students exercised their constitutional rights and made their voices heard. Young people are paying attention and will not sit quietly while decisions that affect their lives are made.