Falls Church Engages in Right to Free Speech During Immigration Protest

Jenna Yusuf, Staff Writer

Last week, attendance at Falls Church drastically declined, specifically among the large Hispanic percentage, during “a day without immigrants”. The protest goes to show the important roles immigrants play in American society. The protest was a response to President Donald Trump’s claims to “crack down” on illegal immigration and his executive order that will temporarily halt travel to the United States from seven Muslim-majority countries to “keep out radical Islamic terrorists to keep the country safe”. The protest was also a response to Trump’s plan to build a wall along the U.S-Mexico border. Many immigrants expressed several complaints after federal raids occurred last week where more than 680 people who have illegally immigrated in the country were arrested. Students also participated in a ‘blackout’ on Friday as a form of protest. Students wore all black to speak out against Trump’s unjust immigration policies. Although the large absence may have also been due to the flu that’s been spreading like wild fire, some classrooms were “practically half empty” according to Lucy Nguyen (9). She also stated that, “The protest really showed how diverse this school really is, which is really important. It was great to see people of many different backgrounds, not just people of Hispanic descent, participate in the protest. I know that some people got fired for missing work on Thursday, which I don’t think is very fair. To those people I’d like to say it was all for a good cause and I wish the best for you.”