Students left class at the Hillsborough High School and filed to the football fields with signs in hand and a marching pace on January 30. Anushka Nair, a senior at HHS, went to the protest. “Seeing the post on Instagram and some of the things people were commenting, made me want to come out even more and just seeing how ignorant people are to problems that don’t directly affect them.” The Instagram account posted the initial protest on January 27, 2026. At this time, the owners of the account would like to remain anonymous. Kaylin DiLollo, a junior at HHS, also went to the protest. “I am absolutely in disbelief that we have so many people here with us. We live in, not the best town I would say, and to see all these people here just I can’t put it into words how happy I am to see this. It’s a very sad world we’re living in and I wish we can just change it for the better.”
When the 8th period bell rang , students began filing out of the building in the library entrance. The students were being led into the track and football field. The field was covered in snow, so the students were in a limited area. Students tried to march around the field, but because of the snow, they could only move 50 or so feet into the track area. People held up signs, some with lines like, “Thank god for immigrants,” “If education doesn’t teach you to resist injustice, it has failed” and “I like my ICE MELTED.” Many had color and were very intricate, some simple and on lined pieces of paper. There were at least 200 present at the protest. When participants realized that they could not march onto the ice-and-snow covered football field, , they turned around and marched back up the steps. Some students went inside because of the cold. The road to the right of the entrance to the football field was blockaided by police cars, but there was an exit to the left where the crowd could go. Student protestors charted a path around the school towards the front entrance They went around in laps, circling the school. After about ten minutes, the crowd gathered in a circle underneath the overhang right outside the main entrance to the school. There, people chanted, screamed, and led repeat-after-me sequences.
Students shared their views on the walk out. Isabelle Chan, a junior, participated in the Walkout. “It will bring awareness to the situation, especially in Hillsborough, NJ, and there are ICE agents spotted around Somerset County and this will hopefully get coverage and bring awareness to what’s happening.” There were others that didn’t attend for different reasons. Jackson Streger, a sophomore, didn’t go. “I didn’t go to the protest because I had a test that period.” Another student, who would like to remain anonymous, shared his thoughts on the protest. The student didn’t go because he believes that the protest would only have been effective if ICE was at the walkout or aware of it. He would have participated if the march had continued down the streets towards the apartments.
Principal Jeffrey DiLollo said that it’s important to be prepared and have police support, since a large group was involved in the protest and his goal is to keep everyone safe. DiLollo explained that it is a student’s right to exercise their first amendment rights, but that it doesn’t excuse consequences. There are policies and procedures in place to keep the students safe and one doesn’t negate the other. “Often, exercising our rights do have consequences,” he said.
DiLollo also pointed out the value of students sharing their views. “I think it’s really critical to support, regardless of what is being brought up, whether it’s a protest or advocacy in writing in an article or someone sending an email, it’s about the dialogue. It’s about conversation, moving the ball forward and helping you guys to become more informed citizens,” he said.
