Hundreds of residents, Boston City Councilors and local labor union members gathered in Boston’s Circle Plaza, condemning the recent raids carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Los Angeles.
Those in the crowd also criticized the use of tear gas and pepper spray against protestors over the weekend and the arrest of David Huerta, president of the Service Employees International Union of California.
“They want to fuel this narrative that [President] Trump is going to restore order to the country, but working people know better, and we are standing up,” said David Foley, president of SEIU Local 509, as he addressed the crowd. “We know this is not justice, but this is, as David himself said, madness. Kidnapping people to fill quotas isn’t law enforcement, it’s violent repression.”
The rally comes as Los Angeles remains tense after days of unrest and the deployment of over 2,000 National Guard soldiers into the city.
On Friday, ICE conducted multiple immigration sweeps through Los Angeles, detaining at least 44 people.
During a protest later that day outside of the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, the union says Huerta was serving as a community observer and documenting ICE activities when he was arrested by federal agents for allegedly interfering and blocking a law enforcement vehicle.
“David Huerta was peacefully exercising his constitutional rights, lawfully observing immigration activity in his community when ICE violently arrested him,” said Massachusetts AFL-CIO president Chrissy Lynch, who leads the state’s largest labor federation. “He was doing what unions always do … and what this country was founded on — speaking out against injustice.”
Rallygoer Linda Jones of Swampscott said Huerta was peacefully exercising his First Amendment rights to protest when he was arrested.
“They are trying to flip the script on what patriotism is, and patriotism is free speech and being able to feel safe to speak your opinion,” she said. “Peaceful protest is patriotic, and there was no need for the National Guard.”
Barbara Katzenberg of Lexington said what’s happening in Los Angeles is a shame because immigrants are important to this country.
“First of all, we need these folks, they’re doing work that we care about. If you go to the Home Depot, where people are waiting to do work, that’s because they want to work and people want to hire them, and so we need to look at that kind of thoughtfully,” she said. “I think as many of us as possible have to show up and speak for those who are afraid to speak up right now.”
Jeffrey Franchetti, a student at Northeastern University, said he hopes the rally will encourage people to wake up and continue showing up in solidarity with others.
“It’s a time when we as a people have to show up for things we’re not interested in, things we’re interested in and things we even disagree with,” he said. “It’s time to show solidarity. That we, as Americans, matter more than a stupid party or stupid organization. We’re bigger than that.”
Huerta made his first court appearance on Monday and has been charged with conspiracy to impede an officer, a felony charge with a maximum sentence of six years in federal prison.
He was released on $50,000 bond, according to the Associated Press.
