On Jan. 30, several local protests were organized as part of a larger ‘national day of strike’. Fort Lewis College students participated in an on-campus gathering at the clocktower in remembrance of the over 40 individuals killed by ICE, either in custody or for obstructing ICE activity. Three other protests occurred later in the day, one at the ICE Field Office in Durango, another downtown as high school students walked out of class and the third following the Snowdown 2026 parade. 

Over 50 students gathered at 11 a.m. by the clocktower, where the names of those killed by ICE were written in chalk on the ground accompanied by flowers. 

A moment of silence was observed, followed by the reading of each name via a megaphone. Students were encouraged to speak their feelings and perspectives as the megaphone was passed among the crowd. 

In the afternoon, community members gathered at the ICE Field Office on Turner Drive. 

FLC students gather at the clocktower on Jan. 30.

Ansel Kellogg, a student at FLC, attended the protest alongside friends. 

“I think it’s important that a large group of people express their anger at something like ICE and deportations, especially out in the real world and not just online,” he said. 

“By going out on the streets, that shows those organizations that were not afraid to be seen and that we don’t need to hide behind a screen to show that we as a people are tired of these fascist actions,” Kellogg said. 

The field office protest overlapped with a Durango high school walk-out. Other community members were welcomed to join the walk. 

Leah Colbert, another FLC student, joined the walk-out event around 2:15 p.m. She learned of the event from posts on Instagram shared by her friends, she said. 

The walk-out began at Durango High School and continued onto Main Avenue, before circling back around and ending back at DHS, Colbert said. 

Some protestors joined the walk-out from various street corners along the way, where they were gathered with their own protest signs, Colbert said. 

Colbert said they received support from vehicles as they passed, with people rolling down their windows and cheering or honking their horns. 

Protestors also received backlash, with some passing drivers yelling out against the walking crowd and raising their middle fingers out their windows, she said. 

Protestors outside the ICE Field Office wave flags and homemade signs on Jan. 30.

“I feel like we get a lot of backlash because we're young, you know, we're in college, we're young adults,” Colbert said. “That doesn't mean we're oblivious to everything that's going on.” 

Colbert wants to exercise her First Amendment rights to stand in solidarity with families who are being unjustly affected by ICE operations just because they have brown skin or speak Spanish, she said.  

“I feel like our government is really targeting those people right now, in a really weird culture war that's going on right now,” she said. 

FLC student Avery Snyder attended an ICE protest in late October of 2025, she said. That protest went into the night, and protestors experienced violence at the hands of law enforcement agents, as reported by several Colorado news outlets. The protest occurred at the ICE field office in Durango, following the detainment of two local children and their father.  

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation is actively looking into state criminal law violations on behalf of the Durango Police Department, as stated in an Oct. 30 CBI press release. 

A video posted on the @north_city_market Instagram page documents law enforcement dragging an individual by their legs and pushing protestors back while holding non-lethal weapons. 

“It's kind of crazy, because you see that stuff on TV and these massive cities, and then it comes here,” Snyder said. 

A protestor hands out donuts at the field office protest.