Senator Ortiz praises student walkouts protesting ICE actions, recounts students' deportation fears

Senator Ortiz used a point of personal privilege on Jan. 27 to call attention to student walkouts in the Phoenix area protesting ICE enforcement and deportations.

Ortiz named multiple high schools participating in the walkouts, including Apollo High School and Independence High School (legislative district 24), and said students had gathered from a range of public, charter and private schools. She described meeting with students on the Capitol lawn and recounted a conversation with a Mesa student who said her friend's father "was taken and is now facing deportation." Ortiz called the students' actions "courageous" and said, "We stand with you. We are proud of you. Keep leading."

In floor remarks Ortiz framed the walkouts as part of a longer history of youth-led civil-rights actions and connected the demonstrations to broader concerns about family separation and immigration enforcement. Those remarks were made as personal privilege statements in the Senate; no formal legislative action was recorded in response during the session.