Who is David Huerta, the California labor leader who was arrested in Los Angeles?

By Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN

(CNN) — A revered California labor leader arrested for his involvement in protests decrying immigration raids in Los Angeles is out on bond, after demonstrators came out nationwide Monday to demand his release.

David Huerta, the president of the Service Employees International Union California, was arrested Friday as he protested an immigration raid in Los Angeles.

After three nights of detention, Huerta was released on a $50,000 bond Monday afternoon, though he remains charged with conspiracy to impede an officer, a felony that could result in up to six years in prison, according to the US Attorney’s Office.

“A fighter for immigrant justice”

A well-known figure in the California labor movement, Huerta started his career mobilizing immigrant janitors in Los Angeles to demand better working conditions as part of a 1990s campaign called Justice for Janitors, according to a UNI Global Union statement.

He was once praised by former President Barack Obama’s administration for his efforts to advocate for immigrant workers.

“As a labor leader, David has worked to build an immigrant integration program that includes English classes for union members. Under his leadership, hundreds of SEIU-USWW members have become U.S. citizens. In addition, he has advocated for comprehensive immigration reform by empowering SEIU-USWW members to become their own advocates for change,” an archived White House post from the Obama administration reads.

Huerta’s union has described him as “a father, a union leader, and a fighter for immigrant justice.”

Supporters in California rallied around Huerta when he was released from custody Monday afternoon, chanting “Si se puede.”

Speaking outside the courthouse after his release, Huerta said authorities are trying to make an example out of him, cautioning that while he was released on bond, other detainees are still locked up, with some allegedly unable to see their lawyers or attend critical court hearings.

“We will have our time for justice, but we must do it in a way that we demonstrate the power of working people across this country and stand united,” Huerta told the crowd.

After Huerta was released Monday, his union released a statement: “We are relieved that David is free and reunited with his family and we are deeply grateful to the hundreds of elected officials, civil rights leaders, labor partners and allies from across the nation who stood in solidarity and demanded David’s release,” Service Employees International Union President April Verrett said.

“But this struggle is about much more than just one man,” Verrett continued. “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 national union boasts about 2 million members in healthcare, the public sector and property services, with more than 700,000 workers represented throughout California.

What led to the arrest

After Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials began performing targeted raids and arresting community members in the Los Angeles area last week, protestors came out in numbers to voice their objections.

Huerta was among the demonstrators gathered in Los Angeles Friday at a business prosecutors say was suspected of unlawful employment and falsifying employment records.

Prosecutors have accused Huerta of blocking access to a gate while law enforcement attempted to execute a search warrant and refusing to leave when asked, saying multiple times, “it’s a public sidewalk.”

When a law enforcement vehicle approached the scene and Huerta refused to step aside, an officer tried to physically move him, prosecutors said. When Huerta pushed back, the officer pushed him to the ground, handcuffed and arrested him.

Video of the incident shows the tense moments around the arrest, Huerta face down on the ground as multiple masked ICE agents surround and try to detain him, with demonstrators loudly objecting.

The union has described his treatment at the hands of the masked officials as “assault.” Huerta was later hospitalized and treated for injuries sustained during the arrest, SEIU said in a statement.

Lawmakers demand his release

As President Donald Trump called in the National Guard to quell the protests in Southern California – against the guidance of the governor – lawmakers around the nation condemned Huerta’s arrest.

“David Huerta is a respected leader, a patriot, and an advocate for working people. No one should ever be harmed for witnessing government action,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement.

US Democratic Sens. Adam Schiff of California, Alex Padilla of California and Chuck Schumer of New York wrote a letter to the Department of Homeland Security, ICE and the Department of Justice Monday demanding a review of Huerta’s arrest – including exactly how the labor leader was injured in the process.

“During a workplace enforcement action, Mr. Huerta, a well-known and deeply respected community leader, was exercising his lawful right to observe the conduct of immigration enforcement personnel,” the senators wrote.

Schiff attended Huerta’s initial appearance Monday, his team told CNN.

Beyond Huerta’s immediate release on bond, Democratic leaders are demanding the charge against him be dropped.

“House Democrats will stand with David Huerta for as long as it takes until the charges are dropped and the rogue federal actions that have been unleashed will be completely investigated and exposed,” House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement.

Nationwide demonstrations

“Free Huerta now!” massive crowds in Los Angeles chanted Monday.

Their demands were echoed around the nation, as demonstrators took to the streets in at least a dozen cities, including San Francisco, Boston, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Washington, DC, Charlotte, North Carolina, and parts of Connecticut and New York.

Legendary United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta told attendees at a downtown Los Angeles rally Sunday the best way to fight is through the ballot box this November, affiliate KERO reported, adding that although they share a last name, Dolores and David Huerta are not related.

Members of Huerta’s union, along with other labor leaders and workers, held up signs reading, “FREE DAVID” and “END ICE RAIDS.”

Union leaders across other industries voiced their support for Huerta’s due process.

“We must fight back. We reject these attacks on our communities and demand the immediate release of our union brother David Huerta,” Manny Pastreich, president of the property service workers labor group 32BJ SEIU, said while speaking at the demonstration in New York.

“The United Farm Workers, along with the entire labor movement, stands in strong solidarity with our comrade, labor leader David Huerta. We demand his immediate release and condemn indiscriminate sweeps targeting working class immigrants,” the United Farm Workers union said on X.

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees also chimed in: “The apparent targeting of labor activists by federal authorities is unacceptable and dangerous,” the group said in a statement Monday. “We stand united with David Huerta, immigrant workers, and all who seek justice.”

And upon Huerta’s release, the California Federation of Labor Unions said it was relieved to see its “brother” out of custody and on bond.

While many across the labor movement celebrated Huerta’s release Monday, the focus has turned to the workers and family members still detained by immigration authorities. Huerta has thrown his support behind them.

“I know when we organize, we win,” he said Monday.

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CNN’s Amanda Musa, Taylor Romine, Hannah Rabinowitz, Holmes Lybrand and Maureen Chowdhury contributed to this report.