Hundreds of union workers and supporters call for end to ICE raids in Massachusetts
Hundreds of people gathered in Boston's City Hall Plaza to call for an end to ICE raids in Massachusetts and the release of California labor leader, David Huerta.
"Trump and his ICE regime have been tearing families apart and wreaking havoc across the country including our own neighborhoods," Dave Foley, the president of SEIU Local 509 told the crowd.
Huerta was arrested while protesting ICE operations in Los Angeles last week. Huerta was released from custody on $50,000 bond on Monday.
The arrest of Huerta and more than 40 other protesters sparked tension and unrest in the area. Over the weekend, President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard in response.
"Not bad people"
In Boston, those who attended the rally reacted with emotion to the scenes from LA and ICE operations locally.
"A lot of workers that we're calling immigrants are employees at a lot of these major businesses and they're being snatched up off the jobs," said Adam McIntosh.
"They are not bad people. They work hard, they have a family, they have a dream," one woman told WBZ.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu voiced her support for the rally and said protesters should not be fearful of President Trump deploying the National Guard in Boston.
"It's important not to get bullied out of saying what we see with our own eyes," Wu said. "Secret police do not make communities safer."
Bruce Foucart, the former Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations for ICE Boston, argued that political rhetoric is what is fueling the unrest and putting federal agents at risk.
"You have to think about officer safety. You have to think about going home to your family, the things that you have to do," Foucart said. "And to have people that are being incendiary with their remarks within the news, with comments that are being made by politicians, it only exacerbates the situation. It makes things extremely difficult for these professionals to do their job."
