Placer County Students Exercise Their Constitutional Rights; Local GOP Gets Mad
Hundreds of Placer County students engaged in walkouts at Placer County High Schools
February 13, 2026, By William Forseth, Photos by Daniel Medina, OPINION, Special to the PlacerDems Blog
When you see the faces of high school students marching down the thoroughfares of Placer County during the student protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement, you don’t see rage and vitriol. Instead, you see the hope and idealism that drove a nation to become the bastion of freedom. It’s an inspiring sight to witness, knowing the children are our greatest asset. They hold so many concepts and inventions that our post-adolescent minds can’t fathom, and it’s our responsibility as the advocates of future leaders to nurture the free expression of ideas.
It’s difficult to categorize what value children bring to our future. Maybe their spirits have yet to be broken by the specter of divisive Washington politics, and this allows them to comprehend national values at a fundamental level. Maybe they believe that their cries for unity are louder than the bellows of discontent pressing against their First Amendment right, and they’re too naive to be concerned. Maybe they’re simply not afraid of the backlash that peaceful protests have been encountering in recent past, although they should be.
Students from Roseville High School protesting on the corner of Galleria Blvd and Roseville Pkwy, February 6, 2026
Students from Roseville High School protesting on the corner of Galleria Blvd and Roseville Pkwy, February 6, 2026
Days before the protests in Placer County, a 45 year old man attacked student protesters on a sidewalk in Buda Texas. Following the altercation, Republican Governor of Texas Greg Abbott called for the arrest of the students, accusing their walkout of being disruptive. This should come as alarming, given that when persons in leadership roles elect to denounce kids instead of protect them, the institution is failing those kids.
Unfortunately, Governor Abbott’s sentiment that children should be seen and not heard is shared by those who support party lines over pre-adolescent welfare. The Placer County Republican Party said in a Facebook post that “young children should not be poisoned with partisan political activism.”
Without recognizing the irony of publishing a partisan political post demanding fealty from our sons and daughters, the Republican Party accuses... someone... everyone? of the coordination of political protests that place children in the role of activists instead of students. The reason that the Placer County Republican Party feels this way, outside of the standard issue GOP paranoia, is because they believe your kids aren’t smart enough to form their own conviction.
“Immigration policy and federal law enforcement are complex issues that require a level of maturity and understanding that many minors have not yet developed,” the post says.
I hope that the civics lesson the kids of Placer County took away from their protest isn't "sit down and shut up," as is the policy of the Republican Party towards student activism. Like the Placer County Democrats, I don't believe in the erasure of young voices. I don't believe that a student protest is just an opportunity to skip class, but an expenditure of the limited liberties that children have at their disposal to illicit change.
It’s from this perspective that I offer to you the opinions of Placer County students because they have a right to be heard just like everyone else under the protection of the U.S Constitution.
“I’m hoping to make a statement that immigrants are not criminals,” said a young woman being interviewed by a high school journalist on February 9. Her sign reads “For my parents who came with nothing and gave me everything.”
“We want to get our message out that this is wrong,” a young man says as he gestures toward his sign that reads “Stop ICE brutality.”
“Our primary goal within our school was to send a message to Granite Bay High School and the Roseville Joint Union High School district demanding they release a message promising to enforce the strict limitations of ICE presence on/around the campus of Granite Bay High School, as well as their access to student information, as said in California Legislative Protections (AB 49, SB 98, AB 495),” says Jayden from Granite Bay High School. “Overall we are disgusted with the operations ICE has conducted and I will not stand by idly while watching my government use a system rooted in racism and bigotry to increase its control of the people in and outside of the United States.”
Pretty mature statements from people who have yet to develop an understanding of immigration policy and federal law enforcement.
By William Forseth, special to PlacerDems Blog
