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Groups of students from Folsom High School and Vista del Lago High School walked out of their classrooms Thursday morning in a coordinated, student-led demonstration, in what they cite as a protest against federal immigration policies, marching through city streets before gathering for a rally and art advocacy event at John Kemp Community Park.
The demonstration, organized under the banner of the “Folsom School Walkout, Protest & Student Art Advocacy Rally,” began just before 10 a.m., when students exited their respective campuses and made their way toward the park.
Thursday morning an exact number of participants had not been officially reported. The group organizing the event had estimated at least 50 students from Folsom High School were expected to take part in the event and at least 60 to 70 students from Vista were expected based on participation submissions.
The protest was described by organizers as a solidarity action in opposition to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E) in what they characterized as actions by the current administration that they believed were harming immigrant communities.
In materials shared by student organizers, the rally was framed as an effort to show solidarity with “communities and families significantly affected by the injustices of ICE” and to peacefully protest immigration policies.
While some students drove to the park, those on foot walked from and followed routes that took them along Broadstone Parkway to Scholar Way, crossing East Bidwell Street before continuing along Clarksville Road and Bundrick Drive to John Kemp Community Park. Others travelled the Iron Point Road area, traveling along Oak Avenue Parkway, Halidon Way, Rathbone Circle and Haverhill Drive..
After arriving at John Kemp Community Park, student organizers gathered participants for a Student Art Advocacy Rally featuring speeches, artwork and spoken poetry.
Student organizers stated the rally was designed to “put student voices, many of whom bring lived experience as children of immigrants, at the forefront of change,” and to provide a platform for students to express how immigration policies had affected them mentally and emotionally.
The event was hosted as a “solidarity gathering” in coordination with the Coalition Against Project 2025, which supported the student-led effort.
The walkout and rally were 100 percent student-organized and were not affiliated with the Folsom Cordova Unified School District or its administration. For students to participate, organizers launched an online resource requiring students to complete a participation form and parents were instructed to notify the school to request an excused absence prior to the walkout on Thursday. At this time the district has not provided any type of official comment on the student event..
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This is a live-time news advisory published from the scene of the event. Further coverage is forthcoming as the event comcludes with more information, participant reaction and more.
