BOISE, Idaho — A walkout and demonstration organized by the group Idaho 50501 drew students and community members to the steps of the Idaho State Capitol, as part of what organizers described as a national “Walkout to a Free America” campaign.
Students from schools across Boise, including Borah, Capitol and Boise High, left their classrooms to join the event. Many carried signs referencing immigration enforcement, cost of living, labor issues and federal policy.
WATCH: Demonstrators gather at Idaho Capitol for national walkout campaign
Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Eric Myricks addressed the crowd.“We did not come here today because disruption appealed to us. We came because disruption has already been written into daily life for too many Idahoan families,” Myricks told demonstrators.
Myricks added, “And when we rise, it is never because we want chaos. It is because silence has become unbearable.”
Students from Borah High School also spoke, raising concerns about immigration enforcement and treatment of immigrant families.
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“It gives me so much hope. to see my community and my generation speaking up to something that will hopefully help prevent this from happening in future generations,” one student said.
Another Borah student criticized ICE operations, saying the agency needs greater accountability, “bring accountability to the violence that ICE has been, you know, creating in our communities. And to make sure that, like, there is no overreach from our administration up top,” the student said.
Organizers described the walkout as a demonstration of “economic power.”
“We're standing up, walking out of businesses, out of schools, out of offices, out of anywhere, just to show the economic power of the working people of the United States,” said Pine, an organizer with Idaho 50501.
