Hundreds of high school and middle school students, along with families, gathered at the Believe sign in City Plaza in downtown Reno, Nev., on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. The Great Basin walkouts were part of the nationwide “ICE Out” shutdown, and students at schools across the Washoe County School District walked out of class.

Ahead of the walkouts, the Washoe County School District said students who left class would be marked tardy or absent under Nevada law, according to the district’s news release. The district also said its priority is educating students without disruption.

Students made their own signs and brought flags representing their heritages. Local businesses showed up too. Coffee N’ Comics brought food and coffee for students who walked a long way in the cold. People danced, shared stories of hardship and talked about what community means to them.

The walkouts came during a record period of immigration detention. ICE held 70,766 people on Jan. 24, six days before the walkout, the highest number in its published detention data. The American Immigration Council says the detained population grew from about 40,000 to 73,000 in the first year of Trump’s second term. In Nevada, ICE made about 3,300 arrests in the first 14 months of the administration, according to Deportation Data Project data through mid-March 2026, and about 60% of those arrested had no criminal conviction. In the last 15 months of the Biden administration, about 23% did not. The Department of Homeland Security has said ICE focuses on “criminal illegal aliens and public safety threats.”

The issue has reached Carson City, too. Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican, said in a Jan. 28 statement that he supports the president’s efforts to secure the border, but disapproved of Trump administration officials drawing conclusions about the Minneapolis shooting before having all the facts, according to his office. Some students at the walkouts also pointed to Lombardo’s 2025 veto of a bill that would have blocked federal immigration agents from entering schools or getting student information without a warrant.

There were smaller counter-protests near Damonte Ranch and Robert McQueen high schools. A bicyclist was hit by a vehicle. The cyclist was taken to a local hospital and treated for minor injuries, and the driver left before police arrived. The driver was later found, and no charges were brought against either person, according to Reno Police Department.