On Feb. 9, 2026, the first post on the gchs_ice_walkout26 Instagram account was made, revealing a plan to walk out of the school on Feb. 19, 2026 after first block to protest the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The first post got over 200 likes and 30 reposts, with the account getting over 300 followers before the protest began. Word spread through the school, with some students that planned to attend submitting their posters to the Instagram account to inspire others before the walkout. On Feb. 18, District 127 Superintendent Mikkel Storaasli sent out an email to the school acknowledging the existence of the planned protest, clarifying the district’s neutrality and recognizing students’ “right to express their views in lawful and peaceful ways.”
On the day of the protest, an estimated 75 students gathered in the parking lot of Grayslake Central High School, and at about 9:53 AM, the walkout began. Students were met with cars beeping their horns and passers-by cheering, while students chanted phrases like “melt ICE” and “ICE out.” Some officials and other individuals from the school, such as Special Resource Officer Eric Cahanin, followed the crowd and stood along the route to ensure orderly conduct.
The protest crossed the railroad and students walked through Central Park, then took North Baron Boulevard to momentarily stop at Dog N’ Suds. Afterwards, they walked down Center Street in downtown Grayslake. They made their way back to Grayslake Central, taking North Lake Street alongside the school building. They continued walking down North Lake Street, then turned left onto West Washington Street.
Senior and walkout organizer Evelyn Cole explained that her involvement started with contacting students at Grayslake North. “When we were first figuring out what we were going to do, I [sent a message] to the North walkout Instagram page, asking how they did it, what they set up. That kind of gave me an idea of how to go about [organizing the walkout].”
Organizers at Grayslake Central reached out to organizers at North via Instagram. Cole said “…one of the other people involved in [organizing] sent a message to the Instagram account, saying ‘Hey, if you guys would like to join us, we’d be happy to set that up with you.’ North didn’t get back to us until the morning of the protest, saying they’d take a survey to see who would want to go, and by that point, it was too late.”
When asked about why she decided to be a part of the walkout, freshman Adeline Savin said “What motivated me was when I heard that a little kid got taken away [by ICE]. I had to read an article for school, actually, and that kind of motivated me more.”
Another participant, senior Cameron Munoz, said “From what I remember, my dad is an immigrant from El Salvador, and seeing what ICE has been doing, I just kind of had to [participate in the walkout].”
During the protest, students arrived at the crossroads of Hayran Way and Washington Street, and the group split. By Rampage’s estimate, about a quarter of students continued along Highway 45 headed towards Grayslake North High School, while the rest took Haryan Way back to Grayslake Central High School. Organizer Eveleyn Cole said “We had never planned to go all the way to North.”
“We posted the route on Instagram, trying to be pretty clear about that, especially since North is around six miles away. So we never planned on going there, it was just a group at the front of the protest when we wanted to turn into Haryan Farms that said ‘No, we’re marching all the way to North.’ We told them that they could keep going, but we told them that we were not responsible for them. That it was their decision to go on,” Cole said.
As the remaining group marched towards Grayslake North, numbers continued to dwindle as students left the group and made their ways back to the starting point of Grayslake Central. Eventually, ten students, including one Rampage reporter covering the event, were what remained of the protest on the final stretch to Grayslake North. At around noon, the group reached their destination.
“[Going to North] was more for the people, so more people could see,” said Adeline Savin, who was one of the nine students who made it to Grayslake North. “Where we were walking before, there were more neighborhoods and not much else. And I decided to follow the way that I told my parents [I would go]. I simply followed the crowd.”
Cameron Munoz, who also walked the full way to North, said “I felt relieved once we got over there, that we made it there safe and that there was nobody that confronted us for it.”
While students participating in the protest took different routes, they were united in a common goal: to show that they did not stand for the actions of ICE.
Senior Evelyn Cole said, “[During the protest], I felt empowered, like I was doing something big. There were a few haters, who voiced their opinions at us. But you know, that’s gonna happen with anything. But it felt good to do something, rather than to just sit and watch it happen.”
“We are the next group of voters, we are the next generation of workers,” said Cole. “It’s our country that is emerging, and I don’t want to live in a country where there’s a lot of hate. So it’s important that we show that we don’t support this country that we are going to be living in.”
