Peaceful Rally In L.A. Demands Release Of SEIU Leader, End To ICE Raids

LOS ANGELES, CA — Maria Flores donned her UFCW union shirt and waved a large Mexican flag among a sea of Angelenos at Monday’s downtown rally. For her, the flag symbolized solidarity with working immigrants — and with family who couldn’t safely attend the protest.

"They're taking people, and they are hard workers, they're good people. They pay they're taxes," Flores told Patch. "A lot of people, they don't know, but they do pay taxes like all of us. They're helping California, and they're helping the United States."

The union-led rally in downtown Los Angeles on Monday afternoon served as a peaceful foil to the weekend’s chaos, which made headlines for its billowing tear gas, burning vehicles and violent clashes between officers and protesters.

"I'm here for all my family, and all the people who have no papers — the immigrants," Flores added.

The demonstration was organized in response to the arrest of union leader David Huerta, president of SEIU California, who was taken into custody Friday outside a garment warehouse where federal agents were conducting an immigration raid.

"David Huerta was unfairly detained for exercising his First Amendment rights," Michelle Horn, a nurse and a member of SEIU 121RN, told Patch at the rally.

Huerta was scheduled to appear in federal court Monday and was released that afternoon on a $50,000 bond. He was charged with "conspiracy to impede an officer" during a protest against ICE.

SEIU California leader David Huerta outside the Federal courthouse in Los Angeles, released on a $50k bond after being arrested on Friday and charged with "conspiracy to impede an officer” during an ICE protest. pic.twitter.com/xjvWK9LNkf
— Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) June 9, 2025

"Today we protest, today we say free David Huerta," Yvonne Wheeler, president of the LA County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, called out to the crowd before he was released Monday. "We do so peacefully. Because our power is not in how loud we shout, but in how firmly we stand ... let them see us, let them hear us, and let them know we're not going anywhere."

The crowd called not only for Huerta’s release but also for an end to the militarized immigration tactics used for raids and demonstrations across the city. Officials and LA residents contend the tactics have only worsened tensions in the city.

“Today was specifically really to ensure that we make a demand to release David Huerta and all those that were detained and stop the military tactics, raid tactics in LA — respect people’s due process,” Max Arias told Patch at Monday's rally.

Arias, executive director of SEIU Local 99, said protest is a vital tool in resisting the Trump administration’s ICE raids, but demonstrations must remain peaceful.

“All the unrest that you’re seeing is really a reaction to terror tactics, but it is important to protest in a nonviolent fashion,” Arias said. “And that’s why we’re here, because we need to start ramping it up, ramping it up to a way that’s massive — or we’re not going to have rights.”

For Arias, ramping up that fight means "demanding the respect of our rights" from LA's streets to Sacramento. On Wednesday, Arias says the union community will gather for a rally at the State Capitol to demand better working conditions and compensation for the state's child care providers.

"We need to figure out how we coordinate among unions and the community quickly within the next few weeks or months to be able to bring about massive action," he said.

John White, an Angeleno whose family has roots in Italy and Slovakia, told Patch he came downtown on Monday to stand "shoulder to shoulder with fellow workers and immigrants."

His ancestors contended with a 1924 law passed by Congress to block Italians and Slovaks from coming to the U.S. "They would have been illegal four years later if they tried to come here," he said. "These people came here for the same reason my grandparents did."

Hanna Diac, a resident of LA's History Filipinotown, said she came out on Monday to show support for her community.

"Los Angeles is an immigrant city, so we are here to defend our neighbors," she told Patch. "This is a nation of immigrants [who provide] cheap labor, and rich people benefit from it."

On Monday morning, the streets were quiet in the sprawling city of 4 million people early Monday. The smell of fire hung in the air and a series of ash piles littered Los Angeles Street with the charred remnants of cars set afire during protests. Police cars blocked streets and freeway ramps, and workers swept up debris. Crews painted over graffiti that covered downtown buildings.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced plans to sue over the Trump administration's deployment of National Guard troops without his approval.

"We didn't have a problem until Trump got involved," Newsom said on Monday afternoon in a back-and-forth on X with Vice President J.D. Vance. "Rescind the order. Return control to California."

Despite calls to pull a military presence out of the city, National Guard and federal forces arrived on Monday to bolster security around federal buildings, as Los Angeles entered its fourth day of protest.

Amy Shoor, joined Monday's demonstration with a sign that said, 'Billionaires Are The Real Enemy, Not immigrants.'

"I just want to think to myself later that I did something," she said. "That I stood up for something. It's when good people don't do anything that bad things happen."