The Public-Sector Union Behind L.A.'s Immigration Agitation
The week's riots in Los Angeles kicked off with the June 6 arrest of David Huerta, president of the Service Employees International Union's California chapter. You might expect a union boss to favor immigration enforcement in the name of protecting his members' jobs. But SEIU California has built its brand—and its business—by obliterating the line between legal and illegal immigration. Operating as an open-borders lobby shop that also organizes workers, it has for four decades amassed political and cultural power in the Golden State for the purpose of undermining federal authority over immigration.
Alerted by activists who monitor the movements of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in the city, Mr. Huerta led a group that attempted to block federal agents from executing search warrants at a warehouse in the city's Fashion District. ICE agents asked Mr. Huerta and others to clear a driveway for official vehicles. A federal criminal complaint alleges he rallied his comrades to 'stop the vehicles' and told them, 'It's a public sidewalk, they can't stop us.' Mr. Huerta refused a federal agent's order to move out of the driveway. He struggled with the officer, stumbled and fell but continued fighting. He was reportedly pepper-sprayed, handcuffed and taken to a hospital before being moved to the Metropolitan Detention Center.
Mr. Huerta is charged with conspiracy to impede an officer, which can carry up to six years in prison. Following his arraignment Monday, he was released on a $50,000 appearance bond. By then he was already being hailed as a hero by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the state's largest newspapers, and union leaders from the United Farm Workers, the Los Angeles teachers union and the California Federation of Labor. Even the Screen Actors Guild voiced its support.
Mr. Huerta declared himself a victim of police violence and a representative of something universal. 'What happened to me is not about me,' he said in an SEIU statement. 'This is about something much bigger. This is about how we as a community stand together and resist the injustice that's happening.' But there's another possible factor in Mr. Huerta's arrest and the ensuing violence: money.
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