Crowd of 400 Benicia HS students protest ICE at City Park

By Stephen Golub, February 8, 2026

This past Wednesday, February 4, 400 Benicia High students walked out of class to protest the Trump Administration’s immigration policies and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency enforcing those edicts.

At a time when hope and inspiration get crushed on a daily basis, these teenagers brought plenty of both to their demonstration at City Park.

Over the years, I’ve taught and worked with many hundreds of fine college, law and graduate students from across the country and the globe. I’ve never been so proud of any as I am of the kids in my hometown. It’s just one demonstration. But  it demonstrates that these students care deeply about the immigrants in their midst and those around the country.

This admittedly out-of-touch old fogey previously hadn’t had a clue regarding what the students were thinking about Trump’s immigration crackdown crisis. Frankly, with the exception of a couple of great kids on my block, my previous awareness of them flowed partly from the “La Migra” (slang for ICE) game played by some Benicia High students until very recent years. That exercise involved older students chasing younger ones around town and “capturing” them in imitation of immigration raids. I knew that most of the kids weren’t racist, but the game certainly was.

I now have a clearer, promising sense of where many of them stand. And it’s not just for the future, as vital as that is. They stand with the better angels in America’s past: the central, essential fact that America is a nation of immigrants, built by immigrants.

More than anything, immigration is what distinguishes this country from all others. If Trump had been in power when our parents, grandparents and ancestors came here, they likely would not have made it and we wouldn’t be here today.

Yes, there have been prior periods in our history when we’ve locked immigrants out and locked them up. Yes, we can’t afford to simply open our borders to everyone; our jobs, housing and social fabric can get seriously strained by an endless flood of foreigners. No, I’m by no means defending the flaws in Biden’s approach.

But there are practical, humane ways to handle this, and there’s Trump’s way: It bizarrely features falsely accusing Haitians of stealing and eating people’s pets – during a nationally televised presidential debate, no less – and more broadly portrays immigrants as massively fueling violent crime here.

In reality for at least 150 years, immigrants have committed crime at lower rates than people born here. Undocumented immigrants have lower felony arrest rates than legal ones or native-born Americans. Only five percent of people detained by ICE have violent criminal convictions; 73 percent have no convictions (not even traffic violations) at all.

Sadly, though, Trump’s violent anti-immigrant stances reflect broader agendas aimed at building up a domestic paramilitary force and attacking minorities. White nationalist, pro-Nazi and antisemitic messaging is emanating from various branches of the Administration, not least the White House, partly to appeal to disgruntled young men who are potential ICE agents. Trump himself recently posted a blatantly racist video depicting the Obamas as apes; it’s now been deleted after an outcry that the White House initially resisted.

But back to the positive, for other valuable lessons flow from the City Park demonstration. As reported in an excellent Vallejo Sun article, a Benicia High junior’s Instagram post prompted the event; classmates helped spread the word.

In a related vein, we should recall that another local hero, Sheri Leigh, played an instrumental  role in illuminating and halting the racist La Migra game. And of course, Minneapolis community resistance to brutal ICE raids has been facilitated by online communications.

One point, then, is that individuals and small groups can still make a big difference in Benicia and America, by taking steps to battle the nation’s worst impulses and to bring out the best in us. Another is that as much as social media can be a cesspool, it also can serve productive purposes.

We similarly  saw the positive power of social media, individuals’ initiatives and collective action on display last Sunday, when a couple of Benicians organized a post-Minneapolis Walk for Peace and Unity down First Street. People quietly came together to share the life-affirming features of our community and our country.

So, thanks to Benicia High students, our local heroes, for educating this uneducated fellow Benician about where you stand and for reminding our city about what’s at stake. There are still dark days ahead. But with people like you lighting the way, I’m looking toward the future with hope.

Stephen Golub writes about democracy and politics, both in America and abroad, at A Promised Land: America as a Developing Country.

…and… here’s more Golub on the Benicia Independent

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