Small band of Tivy High School students walkout to protest ICE

A small band of Tivy High School students walked out of the Kerrville campus and trekked their way to the Kerr County Courthouse on Friday morning to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions across the country.

The move mirrored similar walkouts across the state, particularly in the San Antonio area, as part of larger protests against ICE activity in Minnesota and, increasingly, in Texas.

Friday’s walkout was led by Tivy senior Julio Zapata, who bore a sign that said his “execution might be televised.” Zapata didn’t organize the walkout but spoke for about 50 students who made their way out of the school and down Sidney Baker Street to the courthouse. However, by the time The Lead reached them, they were protesting at JCPenney at the River Hill Mall.

“We wanted to reach more people,” Zapata said of their walk.

Approximately 50 students walked out and continued southward. The students said that Tivy High School Principal Rick Sralla was trying to stop them from leaving the campus.

Sralla eventually made his way down to the mall, said he had no comment, but did say he tried to stop them.

The district sent a news release out at noon.

“While we respect students’ rights to express their individual viewpoints, our top priorities remain student safety and maintaining a positive, uninterrupted learning environment for all,” the release said.

“Any student who chooses to participate in a walkout during the school day will be counted absent in accordance with district attendance guidelines. Any actions that disrupt instruction or pose safety concerns will be addressed through appropriate disciplinary measures, as outlined in the KISD Student Code of Conduct. KISD has zero tolerance for actions that intentionally disrupt the learning environment. Furthermore, Tivy HS Faculty & Staff did not take part or condone the small student-led walkout.”

The organizers of the walkout were senior Olivia Martinez and ninth-graders Britany and Kaely Olaez.  The trio organized the walkout via an Instagram page called Tivy2026. They said they would accept the consequences of the action, which they suspected would be suspensions.

One student, Adan Olvedo, said his family suffered through a violent confrontation with ICE agents in Corpus Christi last summer. Still, they were able to prove the family was U.S. Citizens.

The boiling point of the ICE activity has festered for weeks in the wake of the shooting deaths of two protesters by ICE agents in Minneapolis. The issue has polarized the country, with national polling showing widespread opposition to ICE enforcement tactics.

As the students held their signs, motorists honked in support or gave a thumbs up. However, not everyone seems supportive, with The Lead observing at least two slow drives by people glowering at the protesters before driving off.

Most of the participants in Friday’s protest were Hispanic, and they said they didn’t want to spend a lot of time at the courthouse because they heard that ICE agents were there. ICE’s activity in Kerr County has been widely speculated about, but The Lead has only documented one arrest by federal agents. However, it is known that several people living in and around Ingram have faced deportations, but it remains unclear how many people have been deported.

School walkouts led by Mexican-American students have deep roots in South Texas, especially in San Antonio, Uvalde and Crystal City. Those walkouts were in the late 1960s and protested discrimination against Mexican-American students.