On Saturday, Feb. 21, the student-led organization Voices of Change (VOC) of Montgomery held a “Say No 2 ICE” march at the Court Square Fountain. Around 30 people attended the protest.
The demonstration was organized by Lillian Speigner, Ronny Martin and Seania Player, who are all high school students. They had assistance from the 50501 Montgomery Freedom Fighters’ Safety Marshalls.
According to Speigner, she and the other organizers decided to protest after recent political news, including the killings of several people by ICE agents.
“With the stuff that’s going out in America and with Minneapolis and ICE, I basically just realized that somebody has to say something,” Speigner said. “We can’t stay silent about it.”
Protesters hold Mexican and American flags alongside protest signs about unity and Leviticus 19:33-34.
Player believes that people coming together to speak out against injustice is important to bettering the world.
"We see change happen," Player said. "Of course, things are kinda going back in time, but I feel like the more we push through and stick together, the better the outcome will be."
At 1 p.m., the protesters marched from the fountain down Commerce Street to the Riverfront. During the march, protesters chanted slogans like “Silence is violence,” “No one is illegal on stolen land” and “ICE out.”
Protesters march to the Montgomery Riverfront at the "Say No 2 ICE" march on Feb. 21, 2026.
After the protesters arrived at the Riverfront, Speigner spoke to them about the problems in the country. She particularly emphasized the issues with ICE, which she accused of weaponizing fear and abusing its power.
“Let’s be clear, no badge gives anyone the right to dehumanize people,” Speigner said. “No uniform gives anyone the right to treat families like targets. No government agency should be allowed to operate above accountability,”
Speigner also believes while the country and its past are deeply flawed, loving the United States is not incompatible with criticizing it.
“You can celebrate patriotism and still demand justice,” Speigner said. “You can love this country and still call out the ways it fails its own people. Patriotism is not blind allegiance to power. It is loyalty to the promises this nation claims to represent: liberty and justice for all.”
Lillian Speigner speaks at the "Say No 2 ICE" march on Feb. 21, 2026.
After Speigner spoke, Martin gave a speech about the importance of the protest and speaking out against ICE.
“This is not normal. This is fascism, and we should recognize it as such,” Martin said. This isn’t freedom. This is fear. With us in Montgomery, Alabama, this is the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement, so we should also be encouraged by the people who came before us to speak out against the injustices that we see."
Ronny Martin speaks at the "Say No 2 ICE" march on Feb. 21, 2026.
Once the speeches were done, the protesters decided to march back to the fountain. On the way, a small group of passersby cheered them on and joined in the chanting. The march remained peaceful, and there were no negative interactions between protesters and passersby.
One of the protesters at the march was Ashton Harris, a sophomore majoring in biomedical science at Troy University. He heard about the protest through a friend and decided to join to speak out against ICE.
“I really feel strongly about ICE being deployed in basically an inhumane way, especially with the racial profiling and ICE detention centers,” Harris said. “I don’t believe it’s constitutional or with our American values.”
A man holds a sign reading "ICE out" during the "Say No 2 ICE" march on Feb. 21, 2026.
Throughout the protest, Safety Marshalls from the 50501 Montgomery Freedom Fighters directed protesters and interacted with the police. According to Athera, one of the Safety Marshalls, the VOC of Montgomery organizers asked the local 50501 chapter to support them.
“We are here strictly for safety for them,” Athera said. “We wanted to make sure that since they are people of color, that we had visibility for them as people from the white community. That because they are more of a target, we were a shield for them.”
Athera did not give her real name due to a doxxing threat.
VOC of Montgomery plan to attend the “No Kings” protest on March 28 from 1 to 3 p.m. on the South Lawn of the State Capitol. The upcoming protest will be the third “No Kings” demonstration since President Donald Trump took office.
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