About a hundred Menasha High School students walk out to protest ICE

Rebecca Loroff, Appleton Post-Crescent

Tue, January 20, 2026 at 10:12 PM UTC

2 min read

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Around a hundred Menasha High School students ventured into cold temperatures Jan. 20 to protest the actions of federal agents in Minnesota.

Just before 2 p.m., when temperatures hovered just above the single digits, several students set up a staging ground outside the high school on Racine Street. By about 2:10, more students joined them. Soon afterwards, they marched down the sidewalk on Racine Street, holding signs and chanting "No more ICE!" as cars honked at them.

One protester, recent MHS graduate Alexander Krueger, said he came because he "can't believe we're oppressed by a tyrannical government like this."

Menasha High School students walk out of class to protest the Trump administration Jan. 20, 2026 in Menasha, WI.

MHS junior Connor Rivers said he helped organize the walkout because of the presence of Immigration Customs and Enforcement agents in Minneapolis. While he doesn't necessarily support abolishing the agency, "there has to be a better way," he said.

Rivers said he didn't expect to see this many students join him, thinking the cold would have discouraged them.

Menasha superintendent Matt Zimmerman said district leaders were aware that students were discussing a walkout. In a letter to MHS parents Zimmerman provided to the Appleton Post-Crescent, the district said that any student absent from class without permission from a parent or guardian would be marked unexcused. Those students would remain unexcused unless a parent or guardian excuses them later, the letter said.

"Staff throughout the building continued instruction as planned and the majority of students remained in class," the statement from the district said.

Other Wisconsin high schools have also staged walkouts in recent days, including students in Milwaukee, Wauwatosa and Madison. It's part of a "Free America" national day of protest across the country that falls on the first anniversary of Trump's second inauguration.

In Minneapolis, two weeks of unrest have followed between Minnesota residents and federal agents after an ICE officer shot and killed Renee Nicole Good Jan. 7. Minnesota officials have filed a lawsuit against the federal government asking the deployment of 3,000 ICE agents to end.

Rebecca Loroff is an education reporter for the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. She welcomes story tips and feedback. Contact her at rloroff@usatodayco.com.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: About 100 Menasha students walk out of class Jan. 20 to protest ICE

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