This story by Lindsey Toomer appeared on Colorado Newsline on September 4, 2026.
Students from more than 200 high schools across Colorado walked out of school Friday afternoon, September 4, to protest federal immigration enforcement.
Participating high schools spanned the entire state, but students in the Denver area gathered for a larger demonstration at La Alma-Lincoln Park in Denver at noon. Hundreds of students filled the park, where they listened to student speakers, talked to local organizations with tables offering various resources, and marched around the neighborhood.
A handful of counterprotesters supportive of the Trump administration’s immigration agenda came to the event. Many students screamed at the counterprotesters, tried to run them out of the park, and threw water bottles or other drinks at them. Event organizers repeatedly encouraged students not to engage and to remain peaceful in the park.
Kudo Macher, a 15-year-old student at the Denver School of the Arts, wasn’t surprised to see some violent interactions between students and the counterprotesters, due to the stress she said many teenagers are experiencing.
“I think it’s because of how the state of the world is right now. Our future is in their hands right now, and they’re not doing the right thing,” she said about elected officials.
Violence, riots and fights diminish the message of the walkout, said Macher’s friend Kennedy Fox, also a 15-year-old student at the Denver School of the Arts. But Fox said she is proud that so many students walked out of school not to just skip class, but to show up for a cause they think is important.
“I think human rights are really important, and I think we all need to speak up against injustices that are happening right in front of us,” said Macy Brown, also a 15-year-old student at the Denver School of the Arts.
Students prepared to march through the streets surrounding the park, but Denver Police officers told the group it was an unlawful assembly and directed attendees to disperse. Organizers who supported the students, including state Sen. Julie Gonzales, a Denver Democrat, redirected students to march on the sidewalks surrounding the park and around the Lincoln Park neighborhood.
Denver Police said in a statement said five “assaults/altercations” occurred at the demonstration. Three people were transported to the hospital with unknown injuries, one person was evaluated on scene and one other left the area before speaking with officers. Police identified suspects and investigations are ongoing.
The demonstration at La Alma was unpermitted, according to the police statement, and did not have a safety plan, “which contributed to an unsafe environment for participants.”
PULSE Colorado, a group that volunteers at protests and community gatherings to offer emergency medical care as needed, had a tent at the demonstration.
Democratic congressional candidate Melat Kiros, who defeated longtime incumbent Rep. Diana DeGette in the primary for Colorado’s 1st Congressional District in June, told students at the park that she’s proud of them for risking punishment at school to show support for immigrants. Kiros was raised in Denver after immigrating to the U.S. from Ethiopia when she was 11 months old.
“You chose to show up today and stand up for your immigrant neighbors that are being terrorized by this fascist administration, and this rogue agency that’s kidnapping our neighbors and throwing them into concentration camps,” Kiros said to a crowd of cheering students.
Kiros encouraged those in attendance to find other ways to help protect immigrants and to make sure the walkout is not their “one and only action.”
“You showing up matters,” Kiros said. “Young people and students have always been on the front line of change. You’ve always been at the front line of progress and on the right side of history.”
Many students walked for an hour or more to get to the park, or took public transportation. Elliot Valdez, a 17-year-old student at the Denver Montessori Junior/Senior High School, walked an hour from school to attend the demonstration, and said seeing so many young people show up gives them hope for future generations.
“It just is incredibly infuriating that people who came to the U.S. and for the American dream are being deported and being killed,” Valdez said. “It’s disgusting.”
While they’re not old enough to vote yet, Valdez said they “can’t wait,” and said everyone old enough should vote and advocate for their community since young people are too. Valdez took a photo with Kiros after she spoke at the walkout, and said they appreciate “all she does for the community.”
Jesse Monte, a 15-year-old who lives in Aurora, said he doesn’t want an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in his community. Aurora is home to an ICE detention center run by the GEO Group. He comes from “a huge family of Mexicans” and said he walked out of school to support those who have already been deported, and to help make sure it doesn’t happen to other families.
ICE has arrested and deported thousands of immigrants across the U.S. since President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025 as part of his mass deportation scheme, which ensnares immigrants who lack permanent legal status. While the Trump administration has said those efforts target criminals, many of those arrested do not have criminal records, only civil immigration violations.
Naya Ferguson, a 16-year-old student at Bear Creek High School in Jefferson County, saw a large group of students walking out of her school before she drove to La Alma-Lincoln Park. She said it’s inspiring to see so many students show support for the people affected by the federal government’s immigration enforcement.
“What ICE is doing is just unconstitutional, unlawful. It’s inhumane, and I just don’t want to sit back and just watch it happen,” Ferguson said. “It’s not who I am.”