High School Students from Aldine walk out against HR4437 : Houston Indymedia

By ALEXIS GRANT
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

About 150 students from an Aldine school staged a walkout this morning, hiking several miles to protest a potential congressional crackdown on illegal immigration.

After walking some eight miles from Eisenhower High School, 7922 Antoine, to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office at 126 Northpoint Drive, the group stood outside holding signs and a Mexican flag for about two hours.

By 2 p.m. the students had dispersed but few if any appeared to have boarded the school buses sent to retrieve them.

Senior Jesse Quintero, 18, said he and three friends organized the rally themselves, largely using the internet and phones to contact others.

"We just decided, hey, it's time for us to stand up for our rights and protect our citizenship and our families," Quintero said. "I know that our voice was heard today and it will be even stronger tomorrow."

Quintero said a larger rally is planned for Tuesday in downtown.

"I challenge all Latino and hispanic-descent people to come out with us tomorrow, to miss one day of work, because that will show the city of Houston, and everyone in the nation will see how badly this (proposed immigration restriction) will affect the country."

"We're the immigrants. We're the ones working hard in the sun, doing anything anybody else doesn't want to do," said 10th-grader Jose Perez, 16.

Other students said they walked past Aldine High School which was locked down so others could not leave.

More than a dozen Houston police watched the demonstration.

"We're going to continue to let them express their opinions in a peaceful manner. If it becomes a situation where they block traffic, we're going to have to get police involved," said USCIS spokeswoman Luisa Deason.

"So far they have been peaceful, said Martha Montalbo, executive assistant Houston police chief over special operations, as the protest was in progress. "We're making sure that they stay safe," she said.

Smaller protests were reported at other area schools.

Thousands of other protesters rallied around the country as Congress considers immigration measures.

In Dallas, an estimated 1,500 students walked out of several high schools today, marching to a park to rally for immigrant rights.

About 30 Dallas police patrols, along with Dallas Area Rapid Transit and Dallas Independent School District officers, watched over the gathering.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.