On February 20, 2026, Stafford High School students held a walkout in protest against ICE on the Stafford High School campus. Scheduled firmly from 12:30 to 12:50 p.m, the event started at the bus loop and snaked through the rear parking lot, eventually ending at the main entrance.

The news of the walkout began to spread after an Instagram account under the user @shs_iceout.walkout made posts providing information about a proposed student walkout. The account’s first post was uploaded roughly a week in advance, on February 12, 2026. The post described the walkout’s intentions— which were claimed to be purely peaceful –  and it quickly gained traction through 105 reposts by members of SHS the student body. 

Soon after, Stafford’s administration found out about the walkout plan and quickly assessed the situation.

Stafford County’s superintendent, Daniel Smith, made an announcement regarding the protest via email on February 18, 2026, at 9:16 p.m. 

“To balance student expression with our responsibility to maintain an orderly school day, demonstrations will be limited to a specified period of non-instructional time…If students do not comply with these expectations, principals will address the behavior in accordance with the Code of Conduct,” Smith wrote in his letter. 

The same Code of Conduct mentioned before claims that students are excused from absences if they are participating in a “civic event”. 

The Code of Conduct states, “Civic engagement activities can include, but are not limited to, legislative visits, campaigning, peaceful protests, awareness walks, advocacy efforts, and volunteering or community service.”

As a negotiation, Stafford’s principal, Chelsea Tryon and other Stafford administrators set up a demonstration planned by the student leaders during the lunch periods. At this demonstration, students were able to protest while not interfering with instructional time.

Moreover, Tryon also made an announcement through email on February 19, 2026 at 5:06 p.m.; a day before the planned walkout. 

In the email she said, “The student leaders have informed us that they still plan to walk out at 12:30 tomorrow. We are hoping they do not, as we cannot ensure the safety of our students when they exit the building, especially given the social media presence surrounding this event.” 

The school was provided with extra security efforts in order to maintain the safety of its staff and students. “We will have members of our admin team and security present outside to ensure our students remain safe,” Tryon wrote in her communication. 

Rumors were circulating that there were risks of possible suspension to any student who participated. Senior Myelle Bartholomew said, “I’m just hoping it [suspensions] doesn’t happen, but I’ve been told it won’t. Either way, I feel like standing up for what’s right is better than suspension.”

Determined nonetheless, the protest drew in a large crowd of students from different backgrounds, and different reasons as to why they joined. 

Junior Azariah Small said, “I have a friend who left the country because of ICE. I knew her from middle school, and I miss her every day. If it weren’t for ICE, she would’ve never left the country.”

Senior Boom Wilson also had a personal experience that drew him to protest. “Both of my parents are immigrants, and I felt like not being out here today would just be a disservice to my own parents.”

It might seem that a mid-day walkout in protest of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) seems unrelative to the high school’s environment, but some students disagree. Sophomore Carrie Burton quoted Orwell, saying, “Those who control the present, control the past, according to George Orwell.” 

Burton’s comment can be accompanied with signs displayed during the protest, such as junior Lucy Reichardt, whose sign wrote, “Nazi Germany started with political camps and state sponsored racism.” A historical comparison of the actions of ICE to the actions of those in Nazi Germany. The sign was a call to action to not repeat tragic history.

Senior Naomi Shahidian exclaimed, “I feel like my colored friends should not be worried about whether or not they can go to school and be safe outside of their house.” She continued, “Nobody is illegal on stolen land. Migration is a part of our world and we should not be separating families. It should be criminals, not family.”

Multiple attempts were made to get in-person comment from Stafford’s administrators following the protest, but as of the time of this story, no response has been received. Daniel Reschke, Stafford’s Dean of Students, claimed he had no information to offer as of 2 p.m. 

In the afternoon and following the protest, Tryon sent an email to Stafford families addressing the issue, again, via email. She mentioned students that participated in the lunch protests, saying, “We appreciate our students’ cooperation and their commitment to demonstrating in an orderly and respectful manner.” She then followed up with discussion about the 12:30 walkout, “Any potential violations of the Student Code of Conduct will be addressed on a case-by-case basis.”