The arrest of labor leader David Huerta became a rallying cry for immigrant and labor activists, who demanded his release and an end to President Donald Trump’s immigration raids in Los Angeles and across the nation.
Huerta, the president of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) California, was arrested on Friday while protesting an immigration raid and was held in federal detention through the weekend. He was released on Monday on a $50,000 bond after a hearing in federal court.
“This fight is ours, it’s our community’s, but it belongs to everyone,” Huerta told reporters upon his release. “We all have to fight for them.”
According to a federal court filing, a crowd of people, including Huerta, gathered outside a business where Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents were conducting a search. Huerta sat in front of the vehicular gate, attempting to prevent federal agents from entering or exiting. An officer approached Huerta and told him to leave, then moved Huerta, the agent wrote. Huerta reportedly pushed back and was then arrested, the court filing states.
Before the hearing on Monday, hundreds of civil rights and labor leaders, workers, elected officials and supporters rallied in Gloria Molina Park to demand Huerta’s release.
“Our brother David Huerta was taken into custody because he did what he has been doing for decades – standing up for immigrants in this city, and across this state, and across this country,” said Stephen Boardman, communications director at SEIU United Service Workers West. “David Huerta has been detained because he stood up for what was right.”
In attendance were numerous elected officials, including San Fernando Valley representatives State Sen. Caroline Menjivar, State Assemblywoman Celeste Rodriguez, LA Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath and LA Councilmember Imelda Padilla.
Rally speakers included April Verrett, SEIU national president, labor and civil rights icon Dolores Huerta and Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, among other labor leaders.
“David Huerta is my son from another mother,” said Dolores Huerta, adding that her daughter took him to his first picket line.
“We are in a war for the soul of our country, of our democracy,” she continued. “We’re all mad, but we’ve got to turn that anger into organizing energy and convince people that we can win using nonviolent tactics.”
She encouraged people to start focusing on the 2026 Congressional election, adding that winning a majority in “Congress is the way that we stop Trump.”
Following the rally, demonstrators marched to the federal building, where they were met by a line of National Guard troops positioned outside the entrance.
A group of clergy from various religions joined the demonstrations to offer prayer and presence for those who have been suffering, and to demand that authorities return those detained by immigration enforcement.
“I’m here because people, decent working people, are being snatched off the street. Because David Huerta, a union leader, has been injured and arrested,” said Rabi Robin Podolsky. “I’m here because my ancestors, my grandparents and great-grandparents came to this country for refuge from violence, and I identify with those immigrants who are refugees from violence.”
Podolsky called Trump’s tactics a political agenda of trying to normalize armed troops attacking civilians.
“This is a threat to our entire democracy,” she added.
Demonstrations were peaceful until early evening, when police declared the gathering an unlawful assembly and ordered the crowd to disperse. Skirmishes between demonstrators and law enforcement continued throughout the night.
“We’re going through a dark period, we’re going through a dark time,” said Dolores Huerta during the rally.
“They can cut all the flowers, but they cannot hold back the spring,” she continued. “We are the gardeners and we are going to be planting the seeds of peace. And we are going to win.”