Today in Los Angeles, labor leader David Huerta, President of SEIU California and SEIU-United Services Workers West, was injured and detained during an ICE raid while exercising his First Amendment right to observe and document law enforcement activity.

The CFT joins SEIU and the California labor community in calling for his immediate release.

We honor the actions of President Huerta. Righteous activism and peaceful protest are crucial to a functioning democracy and are a constitutional right under the First Amendment. We applaud his advocacy for union members, immigrants, and working people. 

The actions of ICE continue to be indiscriminate and cruel and do nothing to enhance the betterment of Californians’ lives. They have no place in public education, our public institutions, or in a civil society. We join our labor family in calling for an end to these raids that are tearing apart our communities and only serve to harm working families.