Hundreds rallied for the release of David Huerta and now free from custody.
LOS ANGELES, CA—Hundreds of SEIU members, immigrant workers and allies packed Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles today to demand the immediate release of SEIU California President David Huerta, who was violently arrested, assaulted, injured and detained Friday during a peaceful protest against ICE raids in Southern California.
The rally, held simultaneously with rallies in Washington D.C. and Chicago, comes after the Trump administration deployed the National Guard to respond to growing immigrant-led protests, an unprecedented show of force against communities demanding safety, dignity, respect and justice. David Huerta was released from federal custody on bond earlier today.
Arnulfo De La Cruz, President of SEIU Local 2015, the largest long-term care union in the nation and California’s largest labor union, representing more than half a million caregivers, called Huerta’s arrest “a direct assault on our right to protest and a cruel attack on the working people who make this country run. I’m so happy that David Huerta is now home with his family—not behind bars,” said De La Cruz. “This administration thinks it can scare us into silence. But we are louder, stronger, and more united than ever. If you arrest one of us, thousands more will rise up.”
Huerta, a lifelong Angeleno, union leader, and father of two, was injured and detained after joining immigrant workers in protesting a military-style ICE raid outside an L.A. workplace. His detention has sparked outrage across the labor and immigrant rights movements, with allies denouncing the federal government’s actions as political persecution.
Today’s rally is part of a growing national movement calling for the immediate release of others detained in recent ICE raids, an end to the deployment of federal forces against protestors, oversight of ICE detention facilities and accountability for violent enforcement actions, and permanent protections and a pathway to citizenship for immigrant essential workers.
“We are witnessing the weaponization of the federal government against its own people,” said De La Cruz. “But let me be clear: We will not back down. SEIU will continue to fight for our immigrant members, for our families, and for our future.”To learn more about SEIU Local 2015 visit www.SEIU2015.org or on social media @SEIU2015.