Mountain View High School students joined a nationwide protest Friday, walking out of their classrooms at noon to demonstrate against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations as part of a “National Shutdown” calling for no school, no work and no shopping.

About 600 MVHS students gathered at the main quad before marching to downtown Mountain View, joining community members in a crowd that grew to nearly 1,000 people by the time they reached City Hall at the intersection of El Camino Real and Castro Street, according to the Mountain View Police Department. Students chanted and carried signs throughout their journey, stopping to protest in front of City Hall.

The nationwide demonstrations were organized in response to the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal agents in Minneapolis, as well as ongoing immigration enforcement actions affecting communities across the country.

“I’m here because I feel like it’s important to engage with these protests because it affects so many people,” senior Jordan Fuller said. “We’ve done this in the past and it works. People throughout history have done movements like this, especially young people, and we have to keep doing it.”

Many students shared personal connections to immigration enforcement. For senior Rowan Arellano, whose parents are immigrants, said she came “to voice for every hardworking immigrant that’s not getting equal treatment in this country.”

Senior Cesar Marcial shared this sentiment stating he came to protest against families being separated and people denied due process. 

“It’s really important for us as youth to take our voices and fight for people in our country,” he said.