Riverside Brookfield High School students walkout to protest ICE 

Roughly 150 Riverside Brookfield High School students walked out of their classes Friday afternoon to march to Brookfield’s Eight Corners, protesting the tactics of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

As the students streamed eastward along Washington Avenue, holding up signs that displayed their disdain for ICE, drivers sounded their horns in support. That blare only increased when they reached the roundabout at Eight Corners. 

“Little kids shouldn’t have to run away from ICE agents and fear for their parents to not come back home,” said student Jazlyn Trujillo, holding a small megaphone that she raised from time to time to urge her fellow students on. 

“That’s why I organized this, because I want people to know that I’m not okay with this, and I wanted to start this movement so people would know how corrupt the government is and to tell people from other countries that the people in Brookfield do not support this.” 

Nearby, marcher Aiden explained why he joined the protest. 

“It’s for my people,” he said, preferring not to use his last name. “They say they want to take the criminals. Yeah, they are taking the criminals but they are taking the innocent people, too, people with lives and families and stuff.” 

He pointed to an incident where a friend’s family members were taken out of their car by ICE agents while waiting for their child at school. 

Angelica, another student who asked that her last name not be used, said the protest was partly organized through word of mouth, but also through a dedicated Instagram account. 

“My friend Jazzy had seen stuff online and it was really upsetting her and she wanted to bring it to the school’s attention,” she said. “The school was kind of shutting it down, making it seem like it was a terrible idea.” 

In a letter delivered to parents and students in February, consequences for a walkout like Friday’s were outlined, including students being assessed an unverified absence that can’t be cleared by a parent or guardian. Students leaving during a test or quiz won’t be allowed a makeup, and they won’t be permitted back in school for the remainder of the day or for after-school activities. 

For seniors, leaving could also result in losing a final exam exemption, a privilege students gain by achieving a high grade in a given subject or a pre-set ACT score in that subject. 

Riverside Brookfield principal Dr. Hector Freytas was not immediately available for comment Friday, but his presence was felt. 

“He said anyone that walks through that door, you’re not going to be able to make up your assignments, you’re not going to be able to do your tests and quizzes,” said student Mariam Abdel-Havez. “I know he doesn’t have that much leeway, but at the end he did say, if you’re going to go, go. If you’re not, go back to class. They didn’t force us back or anything.” 

What kind of change did she hope to achieve through the march? 

“Let’s defund ICE and let’s stop going overseas to Iran to fight all of these wars and look at the problems in our own country,” she said, “because there are still millions of homeless Americans, starving Americans, yet ICE has better living conditions than our homeless shelters.” 

Village of Brookfield police chief Michael Kuruvilla also wasn’t available for comment Friday. The only police presence was one squad vehicle at Eight Corners monitoring the protest that coalesced with roughly 100 students on the northern corner of Maple Avenue. There, students chanted against ICE, President Donald Trump and cheered drivers who sounded their horns in support. 

Ana Alvarez-Lundvick, one of the few adults that were present Friday, said she has not had any run-ins with ICE but is working with Brookfield to pass an ordinance to make the village a welcoming city. 

“The consequences of the seniors not being able to have their exemption is not good,” Alvarez-Lundvick said. “I feel like if they worked hard for that, they shouldn’t be punished for something that they worked hard to achieve.  

“As far as missing the tests and stuff, that is a choice the kids have to make and live with that,” she said. “That’s part of being an adult. Do what you need to do, whatever makes you comfortable. The risk tolerance of that is important.”