More than 200 people gathered outside Boston City Hall Monday to condemn President Trump’s response to ICE protests in Los Angeles over the weekend.
Speakers at the rally, hosted by the Service Employees International Union, slammed Trump for ordering the National Guard troops into L.A. over the weekend. The order defied the wishes of California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who on Monday said the state will sue the federal government.
SEIU California President David Huerta was arrested Friday after federal agents say he blocked a gate near a work site in L.A. Union officials say he was injured during the arrest.
Speakers in Boston called for solidarity among those gathered, many of whom wore purple SEIU t-shirts.
“ If David Huerta can be arrested for exercising his rights, who’s next? Which one of us is next? Where does it end?” asked AFL-CIO Massachusetts President Chrissy Lynch. “ When ICE agents attack and detain peaceful protesters, they are shredding the constitutional rights and fundamental freedoms we all rely on as a labor movement.”
Other union-led protests also took place in Chicago.
Boston has become a target of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts in recent months. Last week, ICE officials boasted of making nearly 1,500 arrests in May.
Earlier Monday, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu repeated her stance that ICE agents have been acting as “secret police,” and said it’s important for people to “speak the truth.”
“There are actions taking place that are retaliatory, that are targeting specific communities and cities, and it’s important not to get bullied out of saying what we see with our own eyes,” she said after a press conference.
Also on Monday, Gov.Maura Healey signed a statement released by the Democratic Governors Association that urges the Trump administration to respect state leaders’ “executive authority.”
“President Trump’s move to deploy California’s National Guard is an alarming abuse of power. Governors are the Commanders in Chief of their National Guard and the federal government activating them in their own borders without consulting or working with a state’s governor is ineffective and dangerous,” the letter says.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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