The event unfolded across several parts of the city and, at its peak, involved well over 100 students.
By Levi Gwaltney
Multiple Sources (cited, below)
On Thursday, students from multiple Las Cruces high schools left their campuses during the school day and walked across the city to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The coordinated walkout involved students from at least Centennial, Las Cruces, and Mayfield high schools, with participation later expanding to include students from additional campuses.
The event unfolded across several parts of the city and, at its peak, involved well over 100 students. Local law enforcement accompanied the students during much of the march to help manage traffic and safety.
Despite the scale of the action and its direct impact on public school campuses, coverage of the walkout varied sharply across local media — with some outlets providing detailed, contextual reporting, others focusing narrowly on a single incident, and some not reporting on the event at all.
What Happened
According to reporting by KRWG Public Media, students began gathering early in the day, with groups walking from Centennial High School to Las Cruces High School and then continuing on to Mayfield High School. Along the way, additional students joined the march. The protest eventually moved downtown, with students gathering near the Plaza and later at Albert Johnson Park.
High school protesters walk across Las Cruces criticizing ICE
KRWG | By Noah Raess
KRWG reported that students carried signs and chanted slogans critical of ICE and federal immigration enforcement. Several students spoke on the record about their motivations, including Centennial High sophomore Eduardo Benitez, who told KRWG that the issue was personal for him and his family.
Law enforcement escorted the marchers and assisted with street crossings when necessary. KRWG noted that motorists expressed both support and opposition as the students moved through the city.
The Incident That Dominated Headlines
While students were gathered near Albert Johnson Park, police received reports that a man in a black Land Rover had pointed what appeared to be a firearm at protesters. Officers responded, pursued the vehicle, and later determined that the weapon involved was a BB gun that had been thrown from the vehicle during the chase.
According to police, the man, identified as 41-year-old Harvey Peña, was charged with resisting or obstructing an officer. No assault charge was filed, as no witnesses ultimately came forward to pursue that charge.
This incident became the primary — and in some cases nearly exclusive — focus of coverage by several television news outlets.
Man arrested after pointing BB gun at Las Cruces student protest
KFOX14/CBS4
A report from KDBC CBS 4 News led with the arrest and stated that “authorities did not say what students were protesting,” adding that “a source with knowledge of the matter” indicated the protest was against ICE.
Reporting That Provided Context
Two local outlets provided substantially broader coverage of the day’s events.
KRWG Public Media, the NPR affiliate at New Mexico State University, reported not only on the police response but also on the students’ stated reasons for protesting, the routes they took through the city, and the size and scope of the walkout. KRWG included direct quotes from students and described how the protest unfolded over the course of the day.
Independent outlet Haussamen.com, published by Heath Haussamen, offered an eyewitness account that followed the students across multiple locations. That reporting documented student behavior, interactions with school staff and law enforcement, responses from the public, and the sequence of events leading up to the police response downtown.
Haussamen also disclosed his personal proximity to the event and provided extensive photographic documentation, which is available on his site. His reporting included details about how students coordinated across schools, how police facilitated safety without intervening in the protest itself, and how the incident involving the BB gun developed in real time.
Both outlets clearly identified the subject of the protest, documented student voices, and placed the police incident within the broader context of the day rather than treating it as the sole defining event.
The District Response
Las Cruces Public Schools issued a message to parents and families acknowledging the walkouts and emphasizing student safety and district policy.
In the email, LCPS stated that while the demonstrations were peaceful, students are expected to remain on campus during the school day. The district affirmed support for students’ First Amendment rights while also encouraging future assemblies to take place before school, after school, or during lunch, and to be coordinated with school administration.
The message also noted that once students leave campus, the district cannot ensure their supervision or safety.
Why Las Cruces Digest Is Reporting This
Las Cruces Digest was created to document local events that materially affect the community, particularly when coverage is uneven or incomplete.
This article does not take a position on immigration policy, ICE, or the merits of the protest itself. Its purpose is to record that a large, coordinated student walkout occurred; to document how public institutions and law enforcement responded; and to clearly attribute the reporting that provided the most complete public record of the event.
Local journalism is not only about breaking news, but about preserving context. In this case, that context was provided primarily by KRWG Public Media and independent reporting, while other coverage focused narrowly on a single, sensational element of a much larger civic event.
By citing and promoting outlets that engaged in on-the-ground reporting and transparent attribution, Las Cruces Digest aims to reinforce the value of substantive local journalism — especially when students, schools, and public spaces are directly involved.
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