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California labor leader David Huerta, 58, was let go from federal custody on Monday after posting a $50,000 bond. He faces charges of “conspiracy to impede an officer.”
Huerta, the president of Service Employees International Union California (SEIU) was arrested during an anti-ICE protest in Los Angeles on Friday.
Huerta was seen in photos carrying his shoes and wearing socks after his release. He spoke to reporters, expressing that his arrest wasn’t intended and emphasized that change can only be achieved through nonviolent means.
“This battle is ours, it’s our community’s, yet it belongs to everyone,” Huerta shared in Spanish, as reported by the Associated Press. “We all have to fight for them.”
SEIU California and SEIU-USWW union president David Huerta walks in socks while carrying shoes after his release from detention outside the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building, amid federal immigration sweeps in downtown Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 9, 2025. (Daniel Cole)
While SEIU International President April Verrett said on Monday that the labor union is “relieved” that Huerta is free, she added his arrest only drew attention to a larger issue.
“Thousands of workers remain unjustly detained and separated from their families. At this very moment, immigrant communities are being terrorized by heavily militarized armed forces. The Trump regime calling in the National Guard is a dangerous escalation to target people who disagree with them. It is a threat to our democracy. The federal government should never be used as a weapon against people who disagree with them,” she said in a statement.
SEIU California and SEIU-USWW union president David Huerta speaks to the media after his release from detention outside the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building, amid federal immigration sweeps in downtown Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 9, 2025. (Daniel Cole)
“America is a nation of immigrants. Immigrant workers are essential to our society: feeding our nation, caring for our elders, cleaning our workplaces, and building our homes,” Verrett added. “Immigrants are scientists, they are teachers and professors. They are our co-workers, neighbors and family members. They deserve our respect and they need their constitutional rights respected.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
