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Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Who is David Huerta, the California labor leader who was arrested in Los Angeles?
A revered California labor leader arrested for his involvement in protests decrying immigration raids in Los Angeles is out on bond, after demonstrators came out nationwide Monday to demand his release. David Huerta, the president of the Service Employees International Union California, was arrested Friday as he protested an immigration raid in Los Angeles. After three nights of detention, Huerta was released on a $50,000 bond Monday afternoon, though he remains charged with conspiracy to impede an officer, a felony that could result in up to six years in prison, according to the US Attorney's Office. A well-known figure in the California labor movement, Huerta started his career mobilizing immigrant janitors in Los Angeles to demand better working conditions as part of a 1990s campaign called Justice for Janitors, according to a UNI Global Union statement. He was once praised by former President Barack Obama's administration for his efforts to advocate for immigrant workers. 'As a labor leader, David has worked to build an immigrant integration program that includes English classes for union members. Under his leadership, hundreds of SEIU-USWW members have become U.S. citizens. In addition, he has advocated for comprehensive immigration reform by empowering SEIU-USWW members to become their own advocates for change,' an archived White House post from the Obama administration reads. Huerta's union has described him as 'a father, a union leader, and a fighter for immigrant justice.' Supporters in California rallied around Huerta when he was released from custody Monday afternoon, chanting 'Si se puede.' Speaking outside the courthouse after his release, Huerta said authorities are trying to make an example out of him, cautioning that while he was released on bond, other detainees are still locked up, with some allegedly unable to see their lawyers or attend critical court hearings. 'We will have our time for justice, but we must do it in a way that we demonstrate the power of working people across this country and stand united,' Huerta told the crowd. After Huerta was released Monday, his union released a statement: 'We are relieved that David is free and reunited with his family and we are deeply grateful to the hundreds of elected officials, civil rights leaders, labor partners and allies from across the nation who stood in solidarity and demanded David's release,' Service Employees International Union President April Verrett said. 'But this struggle is about much more than just one man,' Verrett continued. 'Thousands of workers remain unjustly detained and separated from their families. At this very moment, immigrant communities are being terrorized by heavily militarized armed forces.' The national union boasts about 2 million members in healthcare, the public sector and property services, with more than 700,000 workers represented throughout California. After Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials began performing targeted raids and arresting community members in the Los Angeles area last week, protestors came out in numbers to voice their objections. Huerta was among the demonstrators gathered in Los Angeles Friday at a business prosecutors say was suspected of unlawful employment and falsifying employment records. Prosecutors have accused Huerta of blocking access to a gate while law enforcement attempted to execute a search warrant and refusing to leave when asked, saying multiple times, 'it's a public sidewalk.' When a law enforcement vehicle approached the scene and Huerta refused to step aside, an officer tried to physically move him, prosecutors said. When Huerta pushed back, the officer pushed him to the ground, handcuffed and arrested him. Video of the incident shows the tense moments around the arrest, Huerta face down on the ground as multiple masked ICE agents surround and try to detain him, with demonstrators loudly objecting. The union has described his treatment at the hands of the masked officials as 'assault.' Huerta was later hospitalized and treated for injuries sustained during the arrest, SEIU said in a statement. As President Donald Trump called in the National Guard to quell the protests in Southern California – against the guidance of the governor – lawmakers around the nation condemned Huerta's arrest. 'David Huerta is a respected leader, a patriot, and an advocate for working people. No one should ever be harmed for witnessing government action,' California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. US Democratic Sens. Adam Schiff of California, Alex Padilla of California and Chuck Schumer of New York wrote a letter to the Department of Homeland Security, ICE and the Department of Justice Monday demanding a review of Huerta's arrest – including exactly how the labor leader was injured in the process. 'During a workplace enforcement action, Mr. Huerta, a well-known and deeply respected community leader, was exercising his lawful right to observe the conduct of immigration enforcement personnel,' the senators wrote. Schiff attended Huerta's initial appearance Monday, his team told CNN. Beyond Huerta's immediate release on bond, Democratic leaders are demanding the charge against him be dropped. 'House Democrats will stand with David Huerta for as long as it takes until the charges are dropped and the rogue federal actions that have been unleashed will be completely investigated and exposed,' House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement. 'Free Huerta now!' massive crowds in Los Angeles chanted Monday. Their demands were echoed around the nation, as demonstrators took to the streets in at least a dozen cities, including San Francisco, Boston, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Washington, DC, Charlotte, North Carolina, and parts of Connecticut and New York. Members of Huerta's union, along with other labor leaders and workers, held up signs reading, 'FREE DAVID' and 'END ICE RAIDS.' Union leaders across other industries voiced their support for Huerta's due process. 'We must fight back. We reject these attacks on our communities and demand the immediate release of our union brother David Huerta,' Manny Pastreich, president of the property service workers labor group 32BJ SEIU, said while speaking at the demonstration in New York. 'The United Farm Workers, along with the entire labor movement, stands in strong solidarity with our comrade, labor leader David Huerta. We demand his immediate release and condemn indiscriminate sweeps targeting working class immigrants,' the United Farm Workers union said on X. The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees also chimed in: 'The apparent targeting of labor activists by federal authorities is unacceptable and dangerous,' the group said in a statement Monday. 'We stand united with David Huerta, immigrant workers, and all who seek justice.' And upon Huerta's release, the California Federation of Labor Unions said it was relieved to see its 'brother' out of custody and on bond. While many across the labor movement celebrated Huerta's release Monday, the focus has turned to the workers and family members still detained by immigration authorities. Huerta has thrown his support behind them. 'I know when we organize, we win,' he said Monday. CNN's Amanda Musa, Taylor Romine, Hannah Rabinowitz, Holmes Lybrand and Maureen Chowdhury contributed to this report.
CNN
10-06-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Who is David Huerta, the California labor leader who was arrested in Los Angeles?
Immigration Labor unionsFacebookTweetLink Follow A revered California labor leader arrested for his involvement in protests decrying immigration raids in Los Angeles is out on bond, after demonstrators came out nationwide Monday to demand his release. David Huerta, the president of the Service Employees International Union California, was arrested Friday as he protested an immigration raid in Los Angeles. After three nights of detention, Huerta was released on a $50,000 bond Monday afternoon, though he remains charged with conspiracy to impede an officer, a felony that could result in up to six years in prison, according to the US Attorney's Office. A well-known figure in the California labor movement, Huerta started his career mobilizing immigrant janitors in Los Angeles to demand better working conditions as part of a 1990s campaign called Justice for Janitors, according to a UNI Global Union statement. He was once praised by former President Barack Obama's administration for his efforts to advocate for immigrant workers. 'As a labor leader, David has worked to build an immigrant integration program that includes English classes for union members. Under his leadership, hundreds of SEIU-USWW members have become U.S. citizens. In addition, he has advocated for comprehensive immigration reform by empowering SEIU-USWW members to become their own advocates for change,' an archived White House post from the Obama administration reads. Huerta's union has described him as 'a father, a union leader, and a fighter for immigrant justice.' Supporters in California rallied around Huerta when he was released from custody Monday afternoon, chanting 'Si se puede.' Speaking outside the courthouse after his release, Huerta said authorities are trying to make an example out of him, cautioning that while he was released on bond, other detainees are still locked up, with some allegedly unable to see their lawyers or attend critical court hearings. 'We will have our time for justice, but we must do it in a way that we demonstrate the power of working people across this country and stand united,' Huerta told the crowd. After Huerta was released Monday, his union released a statement: 'We are relieved that David is free and reunited with his family and we are deeply grateful to the hundreds of elected officials, civil rights leaders, labor partners and allies from across the nation who stood in solidarity and demanded David's release,' Service Employees International Union President April Verrett said. 'But this struggle is about much more than just one man,' Verrett continued. 'Thousands of workers remain unjustly detained and separated from their families. At this very moment, immigrant communities are being terrorized by heavily militarized armed forces.' The national union boasts about 2 million members in healthcare, the public sector and property services, with more than 700,000 workers represented throughout California. After Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials began performing targeted raids and arresting community members in the Los Angeles area last week, protestors came out in numbers to voice their objections. Huerta was among the demonstrators gathered in Los Angeles Friday at a business prosecutors say was suspected of unlawful employment and falsifying employment records. Prosecutors have accused Huerta of blocking access to a gate while law enforcement attempted to execute a search warrant and refusing to leave when asked, saying multiple times, 'it's a public sidewalk.' When a law enforcement vehicle approached the scene and Huerta refused to step aside, an officer tried to physically move him, prosecutors said. When Huerta pushed back, the officer pushed him to the ground, handcuffed and arrested him. Video of the incident shows the tense moments around the arrest, Huerta face down on the ground as multiple masked ICE agents surround and try to detain him, with demonstrators loudly objecting. The union has described his treatment at the hands of the masked officials as 'assault.' Huerta was later hospitalized and treated for injuries sustained during the arrest, SEIU said in a statement. As President Donald Trump called in the National Guard to quell the protests in Southern California – against the guidance of the governor – lawmakers around the nation condemned Huerta's arrest. 'David Huerta is a respected leader, a patriot, and an advocate for working people. No one should ever be harmed for witnessing government action,' California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. US Democratic Sens. Adam Schiff of California, Alex Padilla of California and Chuck Schumer of New York wrote a letter to the Department of Homeland Security, ICE and the Department of Justice Monday demanding a review of Huerta's arrest – including exactly how the labor leader was injured in the process. 'During a workplace enforcement action, Mr. Huerta, a well-known and deeply respected community leader, was exercising his lawful right to observe the conduct of immigration enforcement personnel,' the senators wrote. Schiff attended Huerta's initial appearance Monday, his team told CNN. Beyond Huerta's immediate release on bond, Democratic leaders are demanding the charge against him be dropped. 'House Democrats will stand with David Huerta for as long as it takes until the charges are dropped and the rogue federal actions that have been unleashed will be completely investigated and exposed,' House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement. 'Free Huerta now!' massive crowds in Los Angeles chanted Monday. Their demands were echoed around the nation, as demonstrators took to the streets in at least a dozen cities, including San Francisco, Boston, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Washington, DC, Charlotte, North Carolina, and parts of Connecticut and New York. Members of Huerta's union, along with other labor leaders and workers, held up signs reading, 'FREE DAVID' and 'END ICE RAIDS.' Union leaders across other industries voiced their support for Huerta's due process. 'We must fight back. We reject these attacks on our communities and demand the immediate release of our union brother David Huerta,' Manny Pastreich, president of the property service workers labor group 32BJ SEIU, said while speaking at the demonstration in New York. 'The United Farm Workers, along with the entire labor movement, stands in strong solidarity with our comrade, labor leader David Huerta. We demand his immediate release and condemn indiscriminate sweeps targeting working class immigrants,' the United Farm Workers union said on X. The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees also chimed in: 'The apparent targeting of labor activists by federal authorities is unacceptable and dangerous,' the group said in a statement Monday. 'We stand united with David Huerta, immigrant workers, and all who seek justice.' And upon Huerta's release, the California Federation of Labor Unions said it was relieved to see its 'brother' out of custody and on bond. While many across the labor movement celebrated Huerta's release Monday, the focus has turned to the workers and family members still detained by immigration authorities. Huerta has thrown his support behind them. 'I know when we organize, we win,' he said Monday. CNN's Amanda Musa, Taylor Romine, Hannah Rabinowitz, Holmes Lybrand and Maureen Chowdhury contributed to this report.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
SEIU leader charged with 'conspiracy to impede an officer' for protesting ICE raid
California labor leader David Huerta, 58, was released from federal custody on Monday on a $50,000 bond after being charged with "conspiracy to impede an officer." Huerta, the president of Service Employees International Union California (SEIU), was arrested during an anti-ICE protest in Los Angeles on Friday. Huerta was photographed wearing socks and carrying shoes following his release from custody. He told reporters he did not intend to get arrested, and the only way to win change is through nonviolence. "This fight is ours, it's our community's, but it belongs to everyone," Huerta said in Spanish, according to the Associated Press. "We all have to fight for them." Fbi Will Investigate 'Any Evidence Of A Criminal Conspiracy' In La Riots Huerta was arrested while law enforcement officers were executing a federal search warrant at a Los Angeles business suspected of hiring illegal immigrants and falsifying employment papers, a special agent for Homeland Security Investigations, which is part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, wrote in a federal court filing obtained by the AP. Read On The Fox News App SEIU represents 750,000 members in 17 local unions across 58 counties, according to its website. Among the members are "nurses, healthcare workers, janitors, social workers, security officers, in-home caregivers, school and university employees, court workers, and city, county and state employees." Fbi Searching For Suspect Who Allegedly Assaulted Federal Officer During Anti-ice Riots In Los Angeles While SEIU International President April Verrett said on Monday that the labor union is "relieved" that Huerta is free, she added his arrest only drew attention to a larger issue. "Thousands of workers remain unjustly detained and separated from their families. At this very moment, immigrant communities are being terrorized by heavily militarized armed forces. The Trump regime calling in the National Guard is a dangerous escalation to target people who disagree with them. It is a threat to our democracy. The federal government should never be used as a weapon against people who disagree with them," she said in a statement. "America is a nation of immigrants. Immigrant workers are essential to our society: feeding our nation, caring for our elders, cleaning our workplaces, and building our homes," Verrett added. "Immigrants are scientists, they are teachers and professors. They are our co-workers, neighbors and family members. They deserve our respect and they need their constitutional rights respected." The Associated Press contributed to this report. Original article source: SEIU leader charged with 'conspiracy to impede an officer' for protesting ICE raid
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The insidious subtext of Trump's L.A. "insurrection" narrative
President Donald Trump is trying to justify his decision to deploy National Guard troops to the Los Angeles area this weekend by describing protesters as violent 'insurrectionists' hell-bent on destroying the city. It's a dishonest claim meant to delegitimize protest — and it foreshadows a more sinister power grab. Here's a quick overview of the events leading up to Trump's insidious intervention. On Friday, protesters took to the streets in response to a series of federal immigration raids across L.A. at places including a clothing store and areas where day laborers gather to find work. According to The Guardian's detailed timeline of the demonstrations over the weekend, those protests were 'mostly peaceful,' involving a few hundred people concentrated in downtown L.A. At times, authorities acted aggressively toward nonviolent protesters. David Huerta, the president of Service Employees International Union California, was 'arrested while apparently doing little more than standing and observing one of the immigration raids,' according to The Guardian. The LAPD used tear gas to break up a crowd after a 'tense but largely non-violent standoff' with police, per The Guardian. On Saturday, protesters demonstrated in Paramount, a small city 20 miles south of downtown L.A., where federal agents were rumored to be conducting more raids. Protesters reportedly numbering in the hundreds gathered outside places they believed to be the site of raids. According to The New York Times, some threw rocks and other objects at law enforcement vehicles, and law enforcement officials responded by tear-gassing them. As clashes with law enforcement intensified over the course of the afternoon, protesters set three fires — including one of a vehicle in a street intersection, according to The Guardian. It was at this point — early Saturday evening — that Trump decided that he wanted to send in National Guard troops to quell a 'rebellion.' And, with that, he gave away the game. Did those protests sound raucous and like the kind of thing that could escalate? Yes. Were they the kind of protests that imminently required law enforcement power beyond the vast resources of Los Angeles County and the state of California? Absolutely not. By the standards of American protests and riots, these actions were modest and contained. Yet, Trump signed a memo sending 2,000 National Guard troops to California — overriding the objections of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. 'Let's be real about this,' Bass said at a Sunday news conference. 'This is about another agenda. It's not about public safety.' Newsom said in a statement, 'We didn't have any problem until Trump got involved,' and he called Trump's sending in the National Guard a 'breach of state sovereignty' that would only inflame the situation. Make no mistake: The real escalation here came from Trump. Trump preposterously claims that he saved L.A. from being 'completely obliterated,' when in reality he has only increased tensions between protesters and the police and made the clashes more high-profile. On Sunday — after National Guard troops were deployed — L.A. Police Chief Jim McDonnell observed that the protests were 'getting increasingly worse and more violent.' I would venture to guess that Trump's aggressive attempts at repression are likely to cause a surge in protest activity, both nonviolent and violent, precisely because he has turned the situation into a showdown and a show of force. And Trump's attempts to describe the protesters as mounting an 'insurrection' — a violent effort to overthrow the government — ring hollow as the protests broadly are clearly dissenting against Trump's mass deportation campaign. This is obvious from the signage and chants of the protesters and the fact that they're gathering at places associated with immigration raids to register their objections. Trump's actions are deeply alarming on a legal level. Elizabeth Goitein, senior director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, described his decision to deploy National Guard troops in the manner he has as 'completely unprecedented' and noted that 'the use of the military to quell civil unrest is supposed to be an absolute last resort.' And New York University law professor Ryan Goodman has pointed out that in Trump's memo federalizing the National Guard, Trump includes First Amendment-protected protest in his definition of a 'rebellion' against the U.S. government. 'Such a claim would make authoritarians blush,' he said. Trump's potential future use of the Insurrection Act looms on the horizon. The rarely used law would be more dangerous than the order he just used to federalize National Guard troops, because it would expand what kinds of armed forces he could deploy and because those forces would have more expansive law enforcement capabilities under the act. As Rachel VanLandingham, a law professor at Southwestern Law School, recently pointed out for MSNBC, Trump's provocation has made that outcome likelier: "By inflaming tensions by sending in federal troops ... Trump may have created the need to invoke the Insurrection Act, thus allowing him to order not only the National Guard, but also active duty troops to police the streets of Los Angeles." There wasn't a real crisis in L.A. until Trump intervened. But that's exactly what he wanted. This article was originally published on
10-06-2025
- Politics
California labor leader charged with impeding officer during immigration crackdown
LOS ANGELES -- The arrest of a California labor leader has become a rallying cry for immigrant advocates across the country who called for his release and an end to President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. David Huerta, the 58-year-old president of Service Employees International Union California, was arrested Friday while protesting outside a business where federal law enforcement agents were investigating suspected immigration violations, authorities said. He was released from federal custody Monday on a $50,000 bond after a hearing in federal court in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, union members and immigrant advocates led rallies in cities from Los Angeles to Chicago to New York to call for Huerta's release. In Boston, hundreds of people gathered in City Hall Plaza, with protesters shouting 'Free David, free them all.' Huerta, a long-time labor leader born and raised in Los Angeles County, has become the face of the pushback against Trump's effort to drive up immigration arrests. His case has also drawn attention to the longstanding ties between Democratic officials and the union that represents hundreds of thousands of janitors, security officers and other workers across California. After he was released, Huerta told reporters he did not intend to get arrested, and said the only way to win change is through nonviolence. 'This fight is ours, it's our community's, but it belongs to everyone,' Huerta said in Spanish. 'We all have to fight for them.' Protests broke out last week in Los Angeles in response to reports of immigration raids, and have escalated with thousands taking to the streets of the nation's second-largest city after Trump took the extraordinary move of deploying the National Guard. Over the weekend, demonstrators blocked a major freeway and set self-driving cars on fire as law enforcement used tear gas and rubber bullets to control the crowd. Huerta was arrested while law enforcement officers were executing a federal search warrant at a Los Angeles business suspected of hiring illegal immigrants and falsifying employment papers, a special agent for Homeland Security Investigations, which is part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, wrote in a federal court filing. A crowd of people including Huerta gathered outside the business yelling at the officers. Huerta sat down in front of a vehicular gate and encouraged others to walk in circles to try to prevent law enforcement from going in or out, the agent wrote, adding it was clear 'he and the others had planned in advance of arrival to disrupt the operation.' A law enforcement officer approached Huerta and told him to leave, then put his hands on Huerta to move him out of the way of a vehicle, the agent wrote. Huerta pushed back and the officer pushed Huerta to the ground and arrested him, according to the filing. 'Let me be clear: I don't care who you are—if you impede federal agents, you will be arrested and prosecuted,' Bill Essayli, U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles, said in a post on the social platform X. 'No one has the right to assault, obstruct, or interfere with federal authorities carrying out their duties.' Messages left for Huerta's attorney, Marilyn Bednarski, have not been returned. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and California's two Democratic senators wrote a letter to federal officials demanding answers regarding Huerta's arrest. California Sen. Adam Schiff attended Huerta's bond hearing. 'It is deeply troubling that a U.S. citizen, union leader, and upstanding member of the Los Angeles community continues to be detained by the federal government for exercising his rights to observe immigration enforcement,' the senators wrote. Huerta has worked for the SEIU for more than 25 years and was elected president of SEIU California, which has more than 750,000 members, in 2022. He was honored during the Obama administration for his efforts to build an immigrant integration program that included English classes for union members. Huerta was injured during Friday's arrest, the union said on its website. In a statement, the SEIU condemned the immigration raids and said its members will continue to demonstrate for workers' rights.
