Fort Walton Beach high schoolers protest ICE in march down Miracle Strip

American citizens, including naturalized citizens, cannot be deported; there is a way around this hard-and-fast rule. The government can start denaturalization proceedings against a naturalized citizen. The Brennan Center reports that fewer than 30,000 citizens were denaturalized and deported in the 20th century. The Supreme Court has set a high bar for the government if it seeks to deport a citizen. 

We reached out to the Okaloosa County School District’s public information office about the protest. They furnished us with a memo prepared in accordance with the direction of the State Commissioner of Education, Anastasios Kamoutsas. 

“Our schools remain focused on providing a safe, supportive environment centered on teaching and learning, The statement from Okaloosa County School District Superintendent Marcus Chambers said in part, “During the school day, employees are required to remain neutral on political issues and may not encourage or support student protest activity, walkouts, or any actions that disrupt instruction. If questions arise during class, employees may provide neutral, factual information that aligns with the curriculum and refer students to the school administration for further clarification. Students who leave class or disrupt the school day without permission may face disciplinary consequences in accordance with district policy.”

I’m later asked by Okaloosa County Public Information Officer Catherine Card to note that the protest took place after school hours. 

Diaz says she originally planned to organize a walkout, but decided to change the protest to a march after she says she was told by Fort Walton Beach High School Administrators that she faced serious repercussions for leading a walkout – as did anyone participating in it. 

 As we walk closer to downtown Fort Walton Beach, I talk to one of the few boys who’ve decided to march – roughly 90 percent of the marchers are women and girls – and ask him why he decided to march. He tells me his name is Derek Crawford, and he’s marching for a friend in Milton whose father was taken by authorities. “They’re Vietnamese. He’s here legally,” Derek said, “They had no reason, so they suspected somebody rewarded him. And that was absolutely insane, because he’s supposed to be here. Why would y’all do that?”

As we pass a car dealership next to a gas station, a man with a short haircut, goatee, and sunglasses approaches me – I’m off to the side of the march, taking pictures for my story. He asks what side I’m on – if I’m reporting for the liberals or the conservatives. I tell him I’m a local news guy – we don’t really do national politics. He gives me a wry smile. “It’s a war for their minds, you know,” he tells me as stand next to me for a brief moment, “This is all a war for their minds, we are in spiritual warfare.” 

As I wrap up my interviews about a quarter-mile from city hall, the same patrol unit pulls up to the side of Miracle Strip Parkway westbound, and a police officer hops out. He looks like he’s all business and opens the back of the car. Students quiet down and eye him warily. He reaches into the back of the patrol unit and pulls out a case of water for the marchers. 

“It just makes me it just makes me so happy that all these people came out,” Diaz says with a smile through a sob. “Immigrants. Don’t deserve everything that they’ve gone through and all the hate that they get. It’s not fair. So I feel like this [march], especially coming from Fort Walton, is a big thing.”