Lots of gathered in Boston Metropolis Corridor plaza Monday to sentence ICE raids and the arrest of the native SEIU union president in Los Angeles over the weekend.
“We are out here in solidarity, along with 1000s of SEIU and other labor siblings throughout the country in over 20 different cities, to show support for David Huerta,” stated Dave Foley, president of SEIU Native 509 and the Massachusetts SEIU state council. “But also to bring attention to what ICE is doing and to demand an end to the ICE raids.”
The native SEIU chapters, together with different unions, introduced an “emergency rally” at Boston Metropolis Corridor at 1:30 p.m. Monday following a sweep of current ICE raids in LA and responding protests in and across the metropolis all through the weekend.
The Trump administration ordered the Nationwide Guard to deploy in LA on Saturday, the primary time in a long time a president has deployed the troops with out a request from the governor, as 1000’s took the road in escalating anti-ICE protests. Forty-four protestors have been arrested throughout the actions, Foley stated, together with SEIU-USWW President David Huerta.
“He remains in detention,” Foley stated of Huerta round 2:30 p.m. “He’s having his arraignment hearing, I think, right now.”
Huerta, who has been charged with conspiring to impede an officer, was launched from federal custody on $50,000 bond later Monday. Federal brokers said Huerta was considered one of a number of protestors at an ICE search of a LA enterprise on Friday, was instructed to depart and allegedly pushed again after being bodily moved by an officer in court docket submitting reported by the AP.
In Boston, protestors decked out in gear from SEIU and a large illustration of native unions have been joined by public officers, school college students, religion teams and extra. Indicators demanded “Free David Now,” together with calls to finish ICE raids and anti-fascism messaging.
The unions’ rallies for immigration justice have continued to “grow and grow,” Foley stated.
SEIU member Jean Voltaire stated the union is “joining together against the illegal arrest” of Huerta and to look out for all employees dealing with the specter of deportation and lack of due course of.
“This is really an exciting, bold step by the unions,” stated protestor Cathy Hoffman on the rally Monday. “When you arrest the head of the SEIU in California, who is just at a protest trying to defend people, it takes it to a different level. But with unions mobilized, more people in the community are organized, more regular citizens have been outraged.”
Rally-goers spoke to the significance of protesting and talking out now. Julie Ogletree referred to as the deployment of the Nationwide Guard “an escalation of the administration’s autocratic effort.”
“As far as I understand, it’s an excuse to crack down on protests,” stated Ogletree. “And (Trump) has said since he was inaugurated that he was going to do this, and now he’s saying he’s going to have the National Guard everywhere. It’s important to protest while you can, to say this is not acceptable.”
Extra protests are coming, Ogletree stated.
Foley spoke to the labor motion’s connection to immigration points, saying the nation is seeing a “gigantic push to divide working people based off of their immigration or documentation status.”
“We represent workers, and working people are working people,” stated Foley. “Every working person deserves dignity, justice and safety in their communities regardless of their citizenship or documentation status. We see what’s happening as a real tactic to divide working people, and we’re smarter than that, and we’re not going to stand for it.”
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