MANCHESTER, NH — More than 200 students at Memorial High School walked out of class Feb. 12 in a demonstration focused on immigration enforcement concerns, particularly fears surrounding potential U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in the community.
The walkout, which lasted roughly 50 minutes, was organized by students and was not sanctioned by the Manchester School District.
Memorial junior Mederic Mpemba, one of the student organizers, said the goal was to bring awareness to what he described as fear circulating among immigrant families.
“It was peaceful. Nobody was hurt,” Mpemba said. “People expressed what they were feeling. We just wanted to show that people who are scared are being seen.”
Mpemba said exercising their First Amendment rights during the school day was a way to highlight that student voices matter.
“People ignore us, like we don’t matter,” Mpemba said. He noted that some students would not be able to participate after school hours for lack of transportation. They deliberately advised school officials of their plans because it means a lot to them to be able to express, in an act of solidarity, how they feel about what’s going on in the world around them.
“What’s happening now, this is affecting people’s real lives,” Mpemba said.
Students gathered near the front of the school at noon on Thursday before walking around the building together, many of them holding anti-ICE signs. They then crossed Weston Road toward the nearby Manchester School of Technology (MST), where some students briefly joined the demonstration, Mpemba said. Participants held signs and chanted while remaining outside the school building.
“There were people who disagreed with us,” Mpemba said, referring to motorists who shouted at students or made “rude gestures while driving past. “I told everyone to ignore it. People are entitled to their own opinions.”
In a statement issued Feb. 12, the Manchester School District acknowledged the walkout and emphasized that it was not school-sponsored. However, some staff members were walking with the students to ensure safety, and several Manchester Police officers were active at the scene.
“The Manchester School District is aware that a group of Memorial High School students took part in a walkout today related to their concerns about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” the statement read. “This activity was not district or school sanctioned.”
The district noted that Principal Benjamin Dick and a school resource officer spoke with students who initiated the demonstration about protesting peacefully and maintaining safety. Students were informed that cutting class could result in consequences under the school’s code of conduct.
The district also stated that while students have First Amendment rights to express their views, demonstrations that “substantially disrupt the learning environment will not be tolerated.”
Mpemba said he spoke with the principal after the walkout and was told the superintendent would determine whether disciplinary action would follow. He acknowledged that detention was mentioned as a possibility.
“Even if we get detention, this is what we felt we had to do,” he said. “We accept the consequences. We don’t think they should build a detention center in Merrimack.”
Students returned to class after the walkout, and school activities resumed for the remainder of the day.
Mpemba said part of the motivation for organizing the walkout stemmed from rumors in recent weeks about possible ICE presence in the area — rumors the district has publicly addressed as unsubstantiated.
“When rumors spread that ICE might be there, it creates fear. Even if it’s not true, it affects people.”
He said some students worry about family members being detained, regardless of immigration status.
“It’s not just about people who are undocumented,” he said. “People are scared. Families are scared.”
Mpemba said the walkout was intended to signal solidarity.
“We’re the future,” he said. “Some seniors can vote. We wanted to show that your vote affects everybody.”
Mpemba said he and two classmates created an Instagram page, a Snapchat group chat, and shared digital flyers to spread the word. When the time came, he said he was surprised by the turnout.
“I didn’t expect that many people,” he said. “It shocked me how much people care.”
He framed the action as an application of lessons learned in class.
“We learn about protest in American Civics,” he said. “We took what we learned and brought it into real life.”
Mpemba, who came to the United States at age 5 from the Republic of Congo, and later became a naturalized citizen with his family, said immigration policy debates feel personal.
“My family came here for better opportunities,” he said. “We came through the legal process, and we’re citizens. But even naturalized families can feel fear.”
He recalled a core memory, of arriving in the United States — seeing snow for the first time and glimpsing the White House in Washington, D.C., and seeing President Barack Obama at the White House.
“It was joyful,” he said. “My mom worked hard for the opportunities we have.”
He is still figuring out what the future looks like – he is thinking about a career in criminal psychology or another aspect of the legal system. While he said he hopes to organize additional efforts among his peers, he emphasized that any future action would remain peaceful.
When asked whether a school assembly would be a possibility to allow student to voice their concerns, he said it’s not allowed.
“You aren’t allowed to share your political beliefs, what you really believe in, in school like that. I think if we had like a club for it where we could bring awareness to the issues that affect us, that would be good, but we wanted to do something where the whole city, the state of New Hampshire, could see how we feel, because this is real life. This is what’s going on. People are scared,” Mpemba said.”This was the best way we could bring attention to it.”
In the end, he said he felt the protest went as well as it could have. It was peaceful and students felt heard.
“Change doesn’t come in one day,” Mpemba said. “It doesn’t have to be a walkout. It could be after school or on a weekend. I just want to do more.”