How immigration politics affected the EHS walkout | In Focus
Published 11:00 am Wednesday, February 25, 2026
I was walking to the Enumclaw library from my home when I saw a cameraman with a large video camera filming the booking door of the Enumclaw Police Department.
I stopped to ask him why he was there. He told me he was from KIRO 7 News and that he was getting video footage of the arrest of two E.H.S. students who had participated in a student-led group protest at City Hall. One student was arrested for striking an adult Trump supporter and another for interfering with that arrest.
I don’t know the backstory or the motivations of the girls or of the adult who was struck. I do know there were two other adults there who had camera phones strapped to their chests, plus they were holding phones in their hands. The man who was struck had a camera and he was also blowing a whistle. It’s clear to me that their goal was to provoke some student or students to react so some could be arrested.
I don’t know what a judge will decide on the guilt or innocence of the two girls. What I want to do here is to reflect on what happened in Minneapolis, Chicago, Portland, and other cities as it relates to small town Enumclaw.
Based upon evidence we can all agree that:
ICE has gone into only Democratic cities.
ICE’s presence and unlawful tactics have stirred up a lot of people including students in Enumclaw.
Mayors of the cities affected did not agree to the presence of ICE and CPB. Most governors have stated these agents are uninvited and unwanted.
American citizens have been shot and killed by ICE agents.
Due process, guaranteed in the Bill of Rights, is not being honored.
What Americans cannot agree on include:
Whether the benefits of illegal immigrants outweigh the negatives. Illegal immigrants work in meat processing factories, agriculture, and home healthcare. This benefits Americans by doing work few Americans are willing to do. Their work makes food prices lower. They pay Social Security and taxes which benefit Americans, not the immigrants.
The counter argument is that illegal immigrants are in the country taking jobs away from American citizens. Illegal immigrants are using taxes to educate themselves and their children. They use American tax money to receive healthcare and welfare.
Whether being an illegal immigrant is actually a crime. According to the American Immigration Council, search, “Physical presence in the United States without proper authorization is a civil violation, rather than a criminal offense. This means that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can place a person in removal (deportation) proceedings and can require payment of a fine, but the federal government cannot charge the person with a criminal offense unless they have previously been ordered deported and reentered in violation of that deportation order.
Conditions in detention centers are horrific, and even children are being detained. This is provable, but this information seems to be ignored by Trump supporters.
Where and whether federal powers trump states’ rights. The 10th Amendment gives power to the states unless there are exceptions which are clearly listed in the Constitution. Immigration is a federal issue.
Who is creating division, the president’s administration by ignoring constitutional and congressional restraints on his power or those who protest against the use/abuse of power by the president?
Let’s return to the issue of the two Enumclaw High School students.
Peaceful protest is a constitutional right. Assault is a crime. Interfering with an arrest is a crime. It seems clear from the video that the adult provoked the student. The adult was blowing a whistle, maybe as a payback to protesters in Minneapolis.
If this is the case, then who is at fault, the adult or the adolescent? Minors are treated under different rules than adults because their ability to think and reason have not yet fully developed. Adolescents also have less ability to control their actions for the same reason. Adults are held to a higher standard of behavior.
These issues will be decided by a judge. Videos are available for the courts to decide what is criminal and what punishment should be meted out.
What is clear is that these two students’ lives will be changed forever. Either they will learn from their experience and become more thoughtful and self-controlled in the future, or this event will lead them on paths that spiral in a negative direction.
What occurs on the national level affects people in small town Enumclaw.
