photo by: Bremen Keasey/Journal-World

Hundreds of protestors gather at Lawrence's South Park on Friday afternoon, Feb. 20, 2026 for an "ICE Out" protest organized by Haskell Indian Nations University students. Several attending students said their protest was important, especially after they said two students were stopped by ICE last week.

Hundreds of Lawrence community members lined Massachusetts Street on Friday afternoon for an “ICE Out” protest led by Haskell Indian Nations University students. Many Haskell students said they showed up to protest after hearing fellow students had an encounter with immigration agents.

As the Journal-World reported, Sanctuary Alliance of Lawrence reported that ICE had detained several individuals in Lawrence on Tuesday, with the Douglas County Sheriff criticizing ICE’s tactics as creating “chaos.”

The Journal-World on Wednesday learned from a source connected to Haskell that two students also were allegedly detained briefly by ICE agents after a traffic stop last week. The two students were let go and not arrested. Other Haskell sources confirmed that they had heard about the alleged stop.

One Haskell student who did not wish to be named said she had Native and Mexican heritage. She said that she was protesting to “support (her) people” and stand her ground, like so many other of her ancestors.

“As Indigenous people, it’s our responsibility to be on the front line,” she said.

The Journal-World spoke with the office of Haskell’s interim president, Alex Red Corn, on Wednesday, which said it could provide no information and referred the Journal-World to Jennifer Bell, a spokesperson for the Bureau of Indian Education, a division of the Department of the Interior, which runs Haskell. The Journal-World reached out to Bell on Wednesday, but she has not responded to the inquiry as of Friday afternoon.

One of the organizers of Friday’s protest, who asked to be identified as MJ, told the Journal-World she was inspired to organize after hearing that “(ICE agents) stopped two students.” MJ said as a mother of four, hearing that ICE was operating in Lawrence clarified her fear of her children being stopped — despite the fact they are Native — because of racial profiling. She said “something needs to be done” if they were going to keep questioning Native people.

The protest on Friday afternoon saw hundreds of people gathered in South Park with signs that read “ICE OUT” and “Abolish ICE.” Many protestors who were Native American wore traditional clothing. Other protestors held signs saying “No one is illegal on stolen land.”

photo by: Bremen Keasey/Journal-World

Hundreds of protestors gather at Lawrence’s South Park on Friday afternoon, Feb. 20, 2026 for an “ICE Out” protest organized by Haskell Indian Nations University students. Several attending students said their protest was important, especially after they said two students were stopped by ICE last week.

Isabella Rudisill, a Haskell student, and her friend both said they wanted to protest in part because of the fact that ICE agents had been picking up Native people. Rudisill said she heard about the Haskell students who were allegedly detained briefly by officers, and it frustrated her because it is “straight up racial profiling” to pull over Native students, and she wanted to support her community.

“It’s just human rights,” Rudisill said.

photo by: Bremen Keasey/Journal-World

Protestors holding a sign during an “ICE Out” protest in Lawrence’s South Park on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026 saying “Land Back.” The protestors, who said they were Native, said they thought was ICE was doing is “wrong and evil.”

Several protestors told the Journal-World that the news of the stop rattled the campus community. One source shared with the Journal-World a “Haskell-specific, student centered” guide for dealing with ICE agents safely that was shared across campus.

Two Haskell students from Oklahoma said they knew of students who were “scared to go to class,” especially since the campus is federally owned. One of the men said he wanted to protest to “voice the concerns” for people who couldn’t voice theirs.

photo by: Bremen Keasey/Journal-World

Andraya B. (left) and Isabella Rudisill at the “ICE Out” protest held in Lawrence on Feb. 20, 2026. Rudisill, a student at Haskell, said she wanted to protest to show people who have been targeting during immigration raids “they are not alone.”

During the protest as the crowds grew to line both sides of Mass. Street along South Park, many of the people driving by honked their horns in support or flashed thumbs up to big cheers. MJ said that she knows living in Lawrence that she “doesn’t stand alone” on issues like this, but she was happy to see how many were there to support the community.

“They showed up,” MJ said.

photo by: Bremen Keasey/Journal-World

Haskell students holding signs during a protest on Friday Feb. 20, 2026 against ICE in South Park. Many of the signs in the protested referenced issues in the Native community

photo by: Bremen Keasey/Journal-World

Hundreds of protestors gather at Lawrence’s South Park on Friday afternoon, Feb. 20, 2026 for an “ICE Out” protest organized by Haskell Indian Nations University students. Several attending students said their protest was important, especially after they said two students were stopped by ICE last week.