Hundreds of Richmond middle schoolers join student-led anti-ICE protest

Feb 12, 2026 - 21:25

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Hundreds of Richmond middle schoolers join student-led anti-ICE protest

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Hundreds of students gathered outside their Richmond middle school to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Thursday.

At about 2:50 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 12, students at River City Middle School participated in an anti-ICE protest on school property.

According to River City Middle teacher Gerald Ross, between 300 and 400 kids took part in this protest, which was organized and led by students.

As seen in the photos shown below, the students marched around the school building, with many of them holding signs.

Grassroots and growing: How Richmonders are responding to immigration enforcement

"We are skipping our lessons to teach you one," reads one of those signs.

Feb. 12 student anti-ICE protest at River City Middle School in Richmond. Faces of involved students have been blurred for their privacy. (Photos: Gerald K. Ross)

These students were advocating for ICE to leave the Richmond area, "as several of them have been affected by the organization," per Ross.

"They worked hard on this and should be celebrated for having a well-run, peaceful protest," he said.

Ross told 8News that River City Middle allowed the protest to take place and gave the students time to participate. He added that no teachers or administration got involved outside of ensuring that the protest was safe.

8News reached out to Richmond Public Schools for a statement on this protest. We have not heard back as of the time of reporting.

Richmond Public Schools leaders have made previous statements about ICE activity, both within the school district and across the nation. One such statement was issued in late January by superintendent Jason Kamras following both the deadly shootings of Renee Macklin Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, as well as the ICE detainment of 5-year-old Liam Ramos.

“My heart breaks for their families,” Kamras said in that statement. “No citizen should fear peacefully protesting, and no child should fear coming to school.”

He added that law enforcement is only welcome at Richmond's schools "to the extent it enhances school safety and security."

“If law enforcement is not there to protect, with my express permission, they aren’t welcome,” Kamras said in the statement.

For more on immigration enforcement in Central Virginia, click here.