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Gwinnett County students protest ICE
A group of high school students helped organize a march on Saturday on several busy streets in Gwinnett County, demanding that Immigration and Customs Enforcement leave their communities.
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - A group of high school students helped organize a march on Saturday on several busy streets in Gwinnett County, demanding that Immigration and Customs Enforcement leave their communities.
What they're saying:
The protest, organized by Voices Without Borders Gwinnett, began on Singleton Road before turning on Jimmy Carter Boulevard towards Interstate 85. Once the protesters neared the interstate, they turned around and walked back to their starting point.
Vanessa Casique, a senior at Berkmar High School, was one of the organizers.
"I've seen these families, communities, and everything being destroyed because of ICE," she said. "We are fighting extra hard to keep ICE out of here because we work hard to be in this country. We are helping build up this country, and we are tired of people telling us that we don't deserve to be here."
Reginald Johnson, a student at the Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology, said the agency's presence is affecting his classmates.
"There are just so many students in our majority immigrant school who are just fearing for their safety, fearing coming to school sometimes, fearing what the repercussions of ICE in Gwinnett might be," he said.
The other side:
ICE did not respond to a request for comment on the ongoing protests across metro Atlanta.
Raphael Francisco, who saw the protesters pass by, disagreed with their message.
"People are driving and drinking, people are driving drunk, no good," he said.
When asked if he supported ICE's mission of deporting criminals, Francisco said, "Yes, yes, criminals are going, forget it."
The backstory:
The march comes after several walkouts at schools across the Atlanta metro area.
Students said they would continue to make their feelings known.
"Nothing about that is trendy. Nothing about that going on is a social media trend that is a facade that will blow by," Johnson said. "No, we mean it. We're here for it, and we're going to continue showing up for it."
The Source: This is a FOX 5 original report where Rey Llerena spoke with students from Voices Without Borders Gwinnett and a person who opposed the protest.