Multiple Oakland businesses, from bars to hair salons, also shuttered or donated earnings as part of a national day of actions to protest Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown and honor the victims of ICE violence.
by Ashley McBride and Esther Kaplan Jan. 30, 2026 (Oaklandside.org)
Shortly before 1 p.m., a crowd of students at Fremont High School, in East Oakland, gathered at the entry gate of their school or nervously milled about the courtyard. As the class bell rang, the gate opened, and a couple hundred students poured out of the school, through the parking lot, and out onto High Street.
“Walk out! ICE out!” they chanted.
They turned down International Boulevard in the winter sun, carrying flags and anti-ICE signs and repeating chants welcoming immigrants and refugees, before converging in the heart of Oakland’s immigrant community. The walkout was part of a nationwide day of action protesting abuses by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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As 2 o’clock approached, the crowd in Fruitvale Plaza grew bigger and bigger as students flowed in from International Boulevard after walking out from around a dozen Oakland schools, from the flats to the hills, including McClymonds High School, Oakland Technical High School, Skyline High School, United for Success Academy, Life Academy, Urban Promise Academy, East Bay Innovation Academy, MetWest High School, ARISE High School, and Oakland Unity High School.
“I wanted to come out here today because I have seen on the news that there are a lot of people getting deported and getting separated from their families, and I don’t think that’s right,” said Yoselin Pablo, a sixth grader at Urban Promise Academy. “We are humans, we are not aliens.”
Ahead of the protest, Oakland Unified School District alerted parents that schools would remain open — but noted that state law permits middle and high school students one excused absence per year for participating in a political or civic event.
Samantha Roseby, a senior at East Bay Innovation Academy, said she helped to organize the walkout from her school as a protest against injustice. About 40 students from her school in the Oakland Hills made the two-hour trek to Fruitvale.
“We have to fight back, and it starts with us,” Roseby told The Oaklandside.
Dani Zimmerman, an English teacher at Fremont High School, said many of her ninth graders took it upon themselves to organize the walkout after learning about the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis and seeing students there organize a similar demonstration.
“They made signs, they got their peers together, and they planned everything that we did to get here today,” Zimmerman told The Oaklandside. “This is so true to Oakland.”
Historically OUSD has educated a substantial number of immigrant students. That number is now at its lowest in 10 years — a steep decline that district officials attribute to federal crackdowns on immigration and the nation’s broader anti-immigrant climate. The number of OUSD students who had just arrived in the U.S. was 22 last fall, compared with 177 in the fall of 2023.
Ariana Maravill and Sara Cruz, both seventh graders at United for Success Academy, gave a speech together to the crowd gathered in the plaza.
“Thank you for being here and showing up and fighting for what you believe is right,” they said. “We have always thought horchata tastes better without ICE.”
Oakland small businesses join the strike
As the students walked out of school, some two dozen Oakland businesses participated in the strike by shutting down for the day, donating all of their proceeds, or offering free services.
“We stand in solidarity with all of our neighbors, families, friends, and communities affected by these horrific acts being done across the nation by ICE,” Arizmendi Lakeshore, the bakery at 3265 Lakeshore Ave., wrote in an Instagram post. “If you are able to attend a demonstration please do. Protect your neighbors.”
Renegade Running, the athletic gear shop at 45 Grand Ave., said it was closing its store Friday “In solidarity with communities under siege,” but the company would still host Friday runs and walks “to create space to gather and share our thoughts, feelings, and resources on further action we can take in our communities and beyond.”
Tallboy, the bar at 4210 Telegraph Ave., wrote, “We opened the question to our team and collectively decided that closing in solidarity is a way to say: Today. Tomorrow and all following days — this is not okay and we must do better and, finally, ICE out now.”
Closed:
Bars & restaurants:
- Arizmendi Lakeshore
- Bombera
- Curbside Creamery
- Millennium Restaurant
- North Light
- Oken
- Ok’s Deli
- Tallboy
Shops & services:
- A Verb for Keeping Warm
- East Oakland Youth Development Center
- Edo Salon
- Great Western Power Co.
- Pony Salon
- Renegade Running
Donating or closing early:
Bars & restaurants:
- Daytrip Counter – donating 10% of proceeds to ACILEP, the Alameda County rapid response effort
- Rush Bowls – donating proceeds to Centro Legal de la Raza
- Temescal Brewing – donating 20% of proceeds to Freedom for Immigrants
- The Caffè Oakland – closing early
Shops & services:
- Banana Yoga – offering free classes to all students
- Nathan & Co. – donating 10% of proceeds to local immigrants rights organizations
We’d love to add your business to this list; if you struck on Friday and you’re not listed here, please email us at esther@oaklandside.org and we’ll update it.
Ashley McBride
Ashley McBride writes about education equity for The Oaklandside. Her work covers Oakland’s public district and charter schools. Before joining The Oaklandside in 2020, Ashley was a reporter for the San Antonio Express-News and the San Francisco Chronicle as a Hearst Journalism Fellow. In 2024, Ashley received the California School Board Association’s Golden Quill Award, which recognizes fair, accurate, and insightful reporting on public schools. Ashley earned her master’s degree in journalism from Syracuse University and holds a certificate in education finance from Georgetown University.More by Ashley McBride
Esther Kaplan
Esther Kaplan was most recently the investigations editor at Business Insider. Before that, she was executive editor at Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting, where she oversaw a reporting team that led investigations for a national podcast, and editor-in-chief at the New York City nonprofit Type Investigations. She launched the Ida B. Wells Fellowship, a program dedicated to diversifying the field of investigative reporting.More by Esther Kaplan
