WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Friday afternoon, military-gear-clad ICE agents launched aggressive raids throughout Los Angeles. At one location, Service Employees International Union (SEIU)–United Service Workers West (USWW) President David Huerta was assaulted, injured, and detained while advocating for immigrant workers. While he has been released from the hospital, he remains in federal custody.

NPNA stands in solidarity with the people of Los Angeles who have a constitutional right to peacefully protest the rogue immigration raids that have sown fear and terror across their communities. We are outraged by the assault and arrest of David Huerta, SEIU California President, a lifetime advocate for immigrant and workers’ rights. Along with our colleagues from the labor and immigrant advocacy movement, NPNA calls for his immediate release. What happened to David Huerta on Friday is about more than just a single leader. It is a direct assault on all of us who believe in the fundamental American right to stand up for justice and speak out for the rights of workers.

Said Nicole Melaku, NPNA executive director, “We are witnessing in real time an authoritarian takeover of our government. The violent assault and arrest of David Huerta—a respected labor leader who has spent his life fighting for workers’ rights—is a chilling example of this administration’s willingness to crush dissent. The President’s activation of the National Guard in response to peaceful protests seeks to intimidate and silence public dissent and violates the right to public assembly. This is the administration’s plan: to escalate a peaceful situation, create chaos, and have an excuse for reckless violence that targets and scapegoat immigrants. The raids across the nation are a distraction from our economy tanking under his watch, and Trump’s big ugly bill will devastate American families while giving tax breaks to the ultra wealthy.

We call on our allies and people across the country to continue to raise their voices in opposition to authoritarian overreach and to protect their communities from rogue ICE operatives who are terrorizing communities across the country.”

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The National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA) is a multi-ethnic, multiracial coalition of 86 of the nation’s largest immigrant and refugee rights organizations with reach across over 42 states. Together with our members, we advance immigrant and refugee equity and inclusion, build and expand immigration legal services and integration programming capacity, and drive campaigns that strengthen democracy through increased civic participation. See our website for more information at partnershipfornewamericans.org.